Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Has $68.37 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 10.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 540,109 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 50,174 shares during the quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $68,367,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 5,254.4% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,735,816 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $358,227,000 after acquiring an additional 2,684,721 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 78,258,757 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,172,709,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957,592 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in Duke Energy by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,662,460 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $312,067,000 after purchasing an additional 965,808 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 13.1% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,236,893 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $965,446,000 after purchasing an additional 954,907 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Milford Funds Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $97,905,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $123.83 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $126.53. The company has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. Duke Energy Corporation has a 52-week low of $113.89 and a 52-week high of $134.49.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DUK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Evercore upped their price target on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Mizuho set a $136.00 price target on Duke Energy in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Duke Energy from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $139.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.44.

Key Duke Energy News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Utilities could benefit from rising electricity demand tied to the rapid expansion of artificial-intelligence data centers. The trend supports Duke Energy’s long-term generation and grid-investment opportunity, although the referenced article focuses on utility ETFs rather than DUK specifically. Utility ETFs to Buy as Rapid AI Buildout Sparks Energy Crisis
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy has restored most power after severe storms in Greater Cincinnati, with nearly 223,000 outages addressed and crews working to restore the remaining customers. Faster restoration limits prolonged service disruption and reputational damage. Duke Energy restores 85% of Greater Cincinnati outages
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500,000 for North Carolina small-business programs and emergency grants for storm recovery in Ohio and Kentucky. The initiatives may support community relations but are not financially material to DUK. Duke Energy invests $500,000 to help small businesses
• Negative Sentiment: Duke Energy completed the sale of 40 million equity units. The financing provides capital for infrastructure and growth, but the additional equity can dilute existing shareholders and signals substantial funding needs. Duke Energy Completes Major Equity Units Financing Offering
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson is challenging a proposed 6.8% residential rate increase and rejecting the related settlement. Regulatory opposition raises uncertainty over Duke’s ability to recover costs and earn its targeted returns. AG Jeff Jackson rejects Duke Energy settlement
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed Duke Energy plant is drawing opposition in Davie and Davidson counties, creating potential permitting, construction and political obstacles. More than 2,000 customers also remained without power during severe storms, highlighting near-term reliability and restoration costs. Duke Energy plant proposal draws opposition

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.