River Road Asset Management LLC Acquires 5,862 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 14.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 47,430 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,862 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $6,004,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $728,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares in the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 523.4% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 42,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,983,000 after purchasing an additional 35,458 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $954,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Duke Energy from $134.00 to $132.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Mizuho set a $136.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Duke Energy from $140.00 to $132.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.44.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:DUK opened at $123.83 on Friday. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $113.89 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $125.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $7.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $1.085 dividend. This is an increase 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 63.96%.

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.