Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Truist Financial

Truist Financial upgraded shares of Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.50.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE DUK traded up $0.91 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $126.58. 690,106 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,263,207. Duke Energy has a one year low of $111.22 and a one year high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market cap of $98.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.03 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $124.18.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,809,633.69. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,292,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,266,675,000 after purchasing an additional 230,375 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,931,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,046,818,000 after purchasing an additional 58,375 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after purchasing an additional 954,907 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,758,700 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $960,139,000 after purchasing an additional 31,703 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Truist upgraded Duke to a “strong-buy,” signaling confidence in the company’s outlook and supporting demand for the stock. Zacks: Truist Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $136 (maintaining an equal-weight rating), a modest lift to valuation expectations that may underpin upside in the shares. Wells Fargo Price Target Raise
• Positive Sentiment: Consensus broker sentiment remains favorable: an aggregate “Moderate Buy” from brokerages reinforces overall analyst support. Brokerage Consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target slightly to $141 but kept an “equal weight” rating — a minor adjustment that signals little change in conviction. Morgan Stanley Adjustment
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate PR: Duke highlighted lineworker training successes (regional rodeo winners advancing to the International Lineman’s Rodeo), a positive operations/PR story but unlikely to move the stock materially. Lineworkers Rodeo PR
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst/market caution: a recent Benzinga piece highlights that Duke’s large $103B planned capex program could compress its credit cushion — a meaningful worry for income-focused investors given leverage and rate/financing risk. Capex / Credit Cushion Concerns
• Negative Sentiment: Near-term price action: coverage noted a recent single-session pullback (about -1.7% close reported), reflecting investor selling that may be driven by the capex/credit narrative and broader market moves. Recent Price Dip Report

Duke Energy Company 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.