Lido Advisors LLC Grows Position in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,891 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,021 shares during the quarter. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,957,592 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its position in Duke Energy by 56.9% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,067,000 after acquiring an additional 965,808 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $965,446,000 after acquiring an additional 954,907 shares during the period. Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $97,905,000. Finally, Cohen & Steers Inc. raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 1,711,445 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $200,598,000 after acquiring an additional 777,878 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp reiterated an Overweight rating on Duke Energy and raised its longer-term earnings outlook, nudging up FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029 EPS estimates. The firm also kept a $139 price target, suggesting confidence in Duke’s earnings growth trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy unveiled its Customer Protection Plus framework, designed to support rapid data center-driven power demand while aiming to deliver billions in customer savings. Investors may view this as a constructive way to monetize infrastructure growth without triggering excessive pushback from customers. Duke Energy (DUK) Unveils Customer Savings Plan To Back Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, reinforcing Duke Energy’s appeal as an income stock and helping attract dividend-focused investors. Can Duke Energy (DUK) Justify Its Price As Its Higher Dividend Draws Attention?
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina leaders and regulators are pressuring Duke Energy to make its federal data-center pledge legally binding. This could support accountability and customer trust, but it also raises regulatory scrutiny around future growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory criticism of Duke’s proposed rate increases remains a headwind, with North Carolina’s attorney general saying the lowered request is still too high. That could add pressure to future profitability if rate approvals become more difficult.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $130.54 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $125.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.79. 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.99, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.76 earnings per share. As a group, research 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. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $1.085 per share. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.46%.

Insider Activity at Duke Energy

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore raised their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $135.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.62.

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.