Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) Updates FY 2026 Earnings Guidance

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) updated its FY 2026 earnings guidance on Tuesday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 6.550-6.80 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 6.700. The company issued revenue guidance of -.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays upped their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $143.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Capitol Sec Mgt downgraded Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.67.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.6%

DUK traded down $0.76 on Thursday, reaching $124.79. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,296,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,152,293. The stock has a market cap of $97.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.11 and a beta of 0.41. Duke Energy has a 1 year low of $111.22 and a 1 year high of $134.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The business’s 50 day moving average is $129.80 and its 200 day moving average is $124.24.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.76 earnings per share. Duke Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.80 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In related news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — Duke reported stronger-than-expected revenue and EPS, raised FY2026 EPS guidance (6.55–6.80), showing operating momentum that supports the dividend and long?term targets. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Big data?center pipeline — Duke added ~2.7 GW of contracted data?center load in Q1 and signed multiple large deals, strengthening growth prospects and regulated revenue stability. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend declared — Duke announced a quarterly cash dividend of $1.065 per share payable June 16, which supports the yield story and income investor demand. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst lift — Mizuho raised its price target to $139 and upgraded to Outperform, signaling buy?side support after the quarter. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO trims target slightly — BMO cut its price target from $139 to $138; a small change that leaves consensus upside intact but adds modest near?term pressure. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory refund in Florida — Regulators approved a $90.5M refund to Florida customers for storm?restoration over?collections; while one?time, it reduces near?term cash flow and invites scrutiny on rate recovery. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rate?hike and merger politics — Public and political pushback over proposed rate increases and concerns around the company’s merger/large spending in NC add regulatory and political risk that could pressure returns. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Activist protests — Climate activists demonstrating against Duke and its political ties intensify reputational and regulatory scrutiny in key states. Article Title

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Amundi lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 56.9% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $312,067,000 after buying an additional 965,808 shares during the last quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec now owns 2,613,595 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $323,432,000 after buying an additional 419,992 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 87.4% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 639,383 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,942,000 after buying an additional 298,275 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 1,481,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,682,000 after buying an additional 261,269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 45.8% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 635,291 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,462,000 after buying an additional 199,424 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

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.