River Road Asset Management LLC Has $6 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,862 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Basso Capital Management L.P. bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1,111.1% during the fourth quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 218 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Triumph Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Triumph Capital Management now owns 231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Evergreen Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utilities could benefit from rising electricity demand tied to the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence data centers. The trend supports Duke Energy’s long-term generation and grid-investment opportunity, although the referenced article focuses on utility ETFs rather than DUK specifically. Utility ETFs to Buy as Rapid AI Buildout Sparks Energy Crisis
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy has restored most power after severe storms in Greater Cincinnati, with nearly 223,000 outages addressed and crews working to restore the remaining customers. Faster restoration limits prolonged service disruption and reputational damage. Duke Energy restores 85% of Greater Cincinnati outages
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 for North Carolina small-business programs and emergency grants for storm recovery in Ohio and Kentucky. The initiatives may support community relations but are not financially material to DUK. Duke Energy invests $500,000 to help small businesses
• Negative Sentiment: Duke Energy completed the sale of 40 million equity units. The financing provides capital for infrastructure and growth, but the additional equity can dilute existing shareholders and signals substantial funding needs. Duke Energy Completes Major Equity Units Financing Offering
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is challenging a proposed 6.8% residential rate increase and rejecting the related settlement. Regulatory opposition raises uncertainty over Duke’s ability to recover costs and earn its targeted returns. AG Jeff Jackson rejects Duke Energy settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed Duke Energy plant is drawing opposition in Davie and Davidson counties, creating potential permitting, construction and political obstacles. More than 2,000 customers also remained without power during severe storms, highlighting near-term reliability and restoration costs. Duke Energy plant proposal draws opposition

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.5%

DUK stock opened at $123.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $125.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $126.53. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52 week low of $113.89 and a 52 week high of $134.49. The company has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 63.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on DUK shares. Evercore lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. KeyCorp raised shares of Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.44.

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.