Trust Co of the South Purchases 7,624 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Trust Co of the South lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 98.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,624 shares during the quarter. Trust Co of the South’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $1,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,417.7% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,084,917,000 after acquiring an additional 17,515,383 shares in the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $86,309,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 448.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 826,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $102,254,000 after purchasing an additional 675,768 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,301,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,442,269,000 after purchasing an additional 584,382 shares during the period. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 1,472,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $173,734,000 after buying an additional 576,674 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:DUK opened at $129.69 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $125.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $122.88. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $111.22 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.52 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.41%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 11th. Evercore reiterated an “in-line” rating and issued a $139.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.80.

Key Stories Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke’s clean?energy and customer programs are gaining traction — the company placed the 10 MW Ebbie Solar project in service in South Carolina and its Renewable Choice program exceeded enrollment targets, signaling continued corporate demand for renewables and supporting long?term growth and ESG transition narratives. Duke Energy helps customers in South Carolina advance sustainability goals
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 in grants to strengthen storm preparedness across North Carolina and is funding lineworker training at multiple colleges — these investments ease operational response risk and help workforce development for grid resilience. Duke Energy invests $500,000 to strengthen storm preparedness
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and investor interest highlight Duke’s dividend appeal, infrastructure and renewable investment plan as reasons for steady, long?term investor support. This helps demand for the stock despite near?term headwinds. Here’s Why You Should Add Duke Energy Stock to Your Portfolio Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke is publicly responding to a large customer petition asking regulators to audit winter bills; the company says it’s reviewing bills and explaining the drivers — this is ongoing and may evolve into clearer regulatory risk or be resolved without material impact. Duke Energy responds to petition calling for bill audit
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention is elevated (search and coverage pieces from Zacks/others), which can increase short?term volatility but also liquidity for the stock. Investors Heavily Search Duke Energy Corporation (DUK)
• Negative Sentiment: Large, recent power outage is under investigation — outages raise potential restoration and capital costs, customer dissatisfaction and regulatory scrutiny that can pressure near?term earnings and sentiment. Duke Energy addressing cause of massive power outage
• Negative Sentiment: Nearly 50,000 customers petitioned for an audit after “sky?high” winter bills and have amplified media complaints across multiple outlets — this raises regulatory and reputational risk that could lead to hearings, refunds or rate reviews. Customers petition for audit of Duke Energy’s electric rates
• Negative Sentiment: Criticism of Duke’s plan to expand fossil?fuel capacity to meet rising demand highlights potential policy and ESG pushback from activists and some regulators — that could complicate permitting and increase political risk. Duke Energy plan draws criticism for expanding fossil fuels
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Duke Energy Ohio rates may rise twice before summer could fuel more customer complaints and regulatory attention, with short?term political and PR costs. Duke Energy Ohio Rates Expected to Rise Twice Before Summer

Duke Energy Profile

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.