Regal Investment Advisors LLC Increases Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 47.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 42,375 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,716 shares during the period. Regal Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $5,244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,301,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,442,269,000 after purchasing an additional 584,382 shares in the last quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,084,917,000 after buying an additional 17,515,383 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.4% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,691,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,025,244,000 after buying an additional 34,906 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 7,281,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $901,146,000 after acquiring an additional 288,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 3.5% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,338,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $747,942,000 after acquiring an additional 216,541 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.80.

Duke Energy News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Duke Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory progress — Duke secured settlement support for its planned Carolinas utility combination, clearing a key hurdle toward consolidation and potential regulatory approval that could simplify operations and reduce costs. Duke Energy secures settlement support for Carolinas utility combination
• Positive Sentiment: Clean-energy growth — Duke opened its largest battery-storage facility in Knightdale, expanding firming capacity for renewables and supporting long-term earnings stability as the utility transitions generation mix. Duke Energy’s largest battery storage facility now open in Knightdale
• Positive Sentiment: Community resilience programs — The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500k in HERO grants to strengthen emergency preparedness across South Carolina, a modest but constructive CSR/operational resilience signal. SC agencies, nonprofits eligible for Duke Energy’s $500K emergency preparedness grants
• Neutral Sentiment: Debt/maturity management — Duke completed a $1.5B offering of 3.000% convertible notes, which helps refinance near-term maturities and preserves liquidity, though convertibles carry potential future dilution. Duke Energy Completes $1.5 Billion Convertible Notes Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational update — Local outage restoration updates (e.g., New Whiteland) and community feeding programs show steady operational responsiveness but have limited market impact. Duke Energy: Power should be back on in New Whiteland by 4 p.m. Duke Energy teams up with Blessings in a Backpack to feed Floyd County students over spring break
• Negative Sentiment: Major equity raise announced — Duke disclosed a $6 billion common-stock offering, which is likely why some investors are cautious: a large follow-on can materially dilute existing shareholders and pressure the share price despite funding needs. Duke Energy (DUK) Announces $6 Billion Common Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political pushback — North Carolina residents are raising alarms over rising energy bills and pushing for audits amid rate-hike requests; public opposition can complicate ratemaking and future returns. NC residents sound alarm over rising energy bills, demand audit of Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Local legal dispute — A homeowner is fighting Duke in a high-profile Lake Norman boats lawsuit, a reputational/legal overhang with modest direct financial risk but possible local regulatory attention. Woman fights Duke Energy lawsuit that wants her famous big boats off Lake Norman

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE DUK opened at $133.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.55. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $111.22 and a one year high of $134.12. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $123.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $122.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $103.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation is a U.S.-based electric power holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company’s core business is the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Duke Energy operates a mix of regulated electric utilities and non-regulated energy businesses, providing essential energy infrastructure and services across multiple states.

Its operating activities include owning and operating generation assets across a portfolio that encompasses nuclear, natural gas, coal, hydroelectric and an expanding array of renewable resources, as well as battery storage and grid modernization projects.