Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Acquires 7,342 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 15.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 54,533 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,342 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $28,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Anfield Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2,608.3% in the 2nd quarter. Anfield Capital Management LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total transaction of $1,015,160.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. This represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $130.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $134.19.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $126.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $118.44 and its 200-day moving average is $121.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $98.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.51. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $110.51 and a 1 year high of $130.03.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 10th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The business 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 business earned $1.66 EPS. Duke Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.800 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $1.065 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.41%.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Goldman Sachs raised its price target on DUK to $142 and reaffirmed a “buy” rating, implying meaningful upside versus recent levels — supportive for investor sentiment and the stock. Goldman Sachs price target
• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat: Duke reported EPS roughly in line/just ahead of consensus and set FY2026 guidance at $6.55–$6.80, which supports earnings growth expectations and the dividend coverage outlook. (Earnings call and analyst write-ups indicate the beat and guidance.) Earnings and analysis
• Positive Sentiment: Data-center demand is expanding Duke’s growth runway: the company’s pipeline hit ~4.5 GW as hyperscale and cloud providers expand, supporting future electricity sales and infrastructure investment. Data center pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Large reported net income (~$4.9–$5.0B for the year) underscores profitability and cash flow that can support dividends and capex plans. Net income report
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke is rolling out AI tools to detect customer-facing scams — a positive customer-protection move but unlikely to materially change near-term revenue or earnings. AI scam detection
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and research notes (e.g., Argus and other reports) are circulating; they reinforce the beat/guidance story but don’t change fundamentals immediately. Analyst report
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political risk: several outlets note pending rate increases that will raise customer bills, which can attract public and regulatory pushback and increase execution risk for approved rate relief. Rate increase coverage
• Negative Sentiment: Municipal risk: St. Petersburg is taking steps to consider a city-run electric utility, which highlights political/local risk that could impair franchise stability in specific markets if pursued. St. Petersburg municipal move

Duke Energy Profile

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.