Zacks Research Has Positive View of Duke Energy Q2 Earnings

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) – Equities research analysts at Zacks Research upped their Q2 2025 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Duke Energy in a note issued to investors on Thursday, June 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the utilities provider will earn $1.25 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.22. The consensus estimate for Duke Energy’s current full-year earnings is $6.33 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Duke Energy’s Q4 2025 earnings at $1.63 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.75 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.78 EPS and Q1 2027 earnings at $1.78 EPS.

DUK has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $125.75.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.98 on Monday. Duke Energy has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57. The stock has a market cap of $90.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.97.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.32%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after purchasing an additional 10,192,503 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $702,351,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 88.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 4,861,309 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $592,934,000 after acquiring an additional 2,276,948 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,094,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,676,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 14,268.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,858,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

About Duke Energy

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.