California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 485,655 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 16.5% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,460,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 485,655 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $304,519,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 37.7% in the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 41,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,153,000 after buying an additional 11,409 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,046,000. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. grew its stake in Duke Energy by 11.3% in the third quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 274,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,985,000 after purchasing an additional 27,820 shares in the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 88,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,892,000 after purchasing an additional 10,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 93,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,604,000 after buying an additional 10,580 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on DUK. Mizuho set a $130.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, March 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.80.

More Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory progress — Duke secured settlement support for its planned Carolinas utility combination, clearing a key hurdle toward consolidation and potential regulatory approval that could simplify operations and reduce costs. Duke Energy secures settlement support for Carolinas utility combination
• Positive Sentiment: Clean-energy growth — Duke opened its largest battery-storage facility in Knightdale, expanding firming capacity for renewables and supporting long-term earnings stability as the utility transitions generation mix. Duke Energy’s largest battery storage facility now open in Knightdale
• Positive Sentiment: Community resilience programs — The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500k in HERO grants to strengthen emergency preparedness across South Carolina, a modest but constructive CSR/operational resilience signal. SC agencies, nonprofits eligible for Duke Energy’s $500K emergency preparedness grants
• Neutral Sentiment: Debt/maturity management — Duke completed a $1.5B offering of 3.000% convertible notes, which helps refinance near-term maturities and preserves liquidity, though convertibles carry potential future dilution. Duke Energy Completes $1.5 Billion Convertible Notes Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational update — Local outage restoration updates (e.g., New Whiteland) and community feeding programs show steady operational responsiveness but have limited market impact. Duke Energy: Power should be back on in New Whiteland by 4 p.m. Duke Energy teams up with Blessings in a Backpack to feed Floyd County students over spring break
• Negative Sentiment: Major equity raise announced — Duke disclosed a $6 billion common-stock offering, which is likely why some investors are cautious: a large follow-on can materially dilute existing shareholders and pressure the share price despite funding needs. Duke Energy (DUK) Announces $6 Billion Common Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political pushback — North Carolina residents are raising alarms over rising energy bills and pushing for audits amid rate-hike requests; public opposition can complicate ratemaking and future returns. NC residents sound alarm over rising energy bills, demand audit of Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Local legal dispute — A homeowner is fighting Duke in a high-profile Lake Norman boats lawsuit, a reputational/legal overhang with modest direct financial risk but possible local regulatory attention. Woman fights Duke Energy lawsuit that wants her famous big boats off Lake Norman

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock opened at $133.17 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $111.22 and a one year high of $134.12. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $123.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The firm has a market cap of $103.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at $2,809,633.69. The trade was a 23.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,142.56. This trade represents a 19.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.14% 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.