Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Bought by Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI grew its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,785 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $9,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake 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 period. Amundi grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $312,067,000 after purchasing an additional 965,808 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after buying an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Milford Funds Ltd. purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,598,000 after buying an additional 777,878 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total transaction of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. The trade was a 17.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total value of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Capitol Sec Mgt lowered Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.47.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $125.82 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $98.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $125.53. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.89 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.085 dividend. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.24%.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Carolinas reached a new settlement that would cut its requested rate hike by more than half, signaling a compromise with regulators that could improve the odds of approval and reduce uncertainty around the company’s North Carolina utility earnings. Duke Energy Carolinas halves its rate hike request in new settlement
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports say Duke Energy lowered its proposed rate increase after public and state pushback, which may ease political pressure and support a more manageable path to recovering costs from customers. Duke Energy reaches North Carolina rate deal that would cut proposed increase by more than half
• Positive Sentiment: Truist Financial raised its price target to $138, and BMO still rates the stock “outperform” even after cutting its target to $134, suggesting analysts continue to see upside in Duke Energy shares. Benzinga report on BMO price target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector commentary from Zacks highlighted Duke Energy as one of several regulated utilities benefiting from grid upgrades and clean-energy investment themes, but this was broader industry context rather than a company-specific catalyst. Zacks Industry Outlook Highlights NextEra Energy, Duke Energy, American Electric Power and Ameren
• Neutral Sentiment: Some valuation-focused coverage argued DUK could be overvalued after the recent rate-case pushback, which adds a cautious note but is not as immediate a driver as the settlement news. Duke Energy (DUK) Stock Could Be 29% Overvalued After Rate Case Pushback

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.