Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Stock Position Boosted by Sarasin & Partners LLP

Sarasin & Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 15.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,283,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 170,700 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up about 1.9% of Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings, making the stock its 19th largest position. Sarasin & Partners LLP’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $162,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. World Investment Advisors lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 62.7% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 42,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,003,000 after purchasing an additional 16,450 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in Duke Energy by 22.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 132,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,534,000 after buying an additional 24,497 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 29.3% in the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 53,861 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,313,000 after buying an additional 12,219 shares in the last quarter. Pinebridge Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $6,326,000. Finally, SBI Okasan Asset Management Co.Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth $1,316,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Strong Q2 results: Duke reported adjusted earnings of $1.43 per share, ahead of the $1.30 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 1.1% year over year to $7.59 billion. The company reaffirmed its 2026 EPS guidance of $6.55-$6.80 and its target for 5%-7% annual EPS growth through 2030. Duke Energy Q2 earnings
• Positive Sentiment: Large-load growth opportunity: Duke said contracted data-center and industrial demand could create $5 billion-$10 billion of additional capital investment, with new loads expected to begin taking power in late 2027. Its data-center pipeline has increased by 2.7 gigawatts since late 2025, potentially supporting regulated rate-base growth and long-term earnings. Duke Energy data-center pipeline
• Positive Sentiment: Lower-cost North Carolina rate plan: Duke Energy Progress reached a stakeholder agreement that cuts the proposed rate increase by more than half while preserving infrastructure investment. Duke will also provide an additional $10 million for customers in need, reducing near-term regulatory friction. Duke Energy Progress rate agreement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain above the market price: Barclays and BMO lowered their price targets to $132 but retained bullish ratings of “overweight” and “outperform,” respectively, implying roughly 7% upside based on the cited price.
• Neutral Sentiment: Hotter-than-normal summer weather in Florida is boosting electricity demand and could support near-term utility sales, although higher usage also increases customer bills and system strain. Duke Energy Florida summer demand
• Negative Sentiment: Equity issuance and execution risk: Duke plans to issue up to $10 billion in equity to fund more than $1 billion per month of investment in generation and infrastructure. The financing could dilute existing shareholders and raises questions about capital requirements and returns.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and legal pushback: North Carolina advocates argue Duke has overstated demand projections, while the governor supports a challenge to a proposed rate hike. Separate legal opposition targets Duke and Amazon’s plans to use diesel generation for a North Carolina data center, creating uncertainty around project timing and costs.
• Negative Sentiment: Recent outages affecting thousands of customers in North Carolina are operational blemishes, though their limited duration makes a material financial impact unlikely.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $123.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $96.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $125.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.89 and a twelve month high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.78% and a return on equity of 9.78%. The company had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Duke Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.550-6.800 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.085 dividend. This is a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. This trade represents a 14.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Mizuho set a $136.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.44.

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.