Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Sold by Moran Wealth Management LLC

Moran Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 77.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 25,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 85,475 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $3,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 11,417.7% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,084,917,000 after buying an additional 17,515,383 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,934,580,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154,783 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 448.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 826,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $102,254,000 after purchasing an additional 675,768 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 64.4% during the 2nd quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 1,472,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $173,734,000 after purchasing an additional 576,674 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 2,726,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,765,000 after purchasing an additional 474,325 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on DUK. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price for the company. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $131.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $136.50.

Duke Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy Foundation unveiled an America250 grant program committing more than $1M to support nonprofits across six states; this is a modest positive for community relations and local goodwill (limited direct earnings impact). Duke Energy Foundation launches America250 grant opportunity
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple reports note power was restored to affected customers quickly after recent outages — a positive for operational resilience and near-term customer satisfaction. Power restored for Duke Energy customers
• Neutral Sentiment: Duke Energy set its Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings release for Feb. 10 — a scheduled catalyst that could move the stock depending on results and guidance. Duke Energy to announce fourth-quarter and year-end 2025 financial results on Feb. 10
• Neutral Sentiment: Plans are moving forward for a second new gas‑fired power plant in South Carolina — signals incremental generation investment and future capex that can support demand but may draw regulatory/ESG scrutiny. Plans underway for a second new gas-fired power plant in SC
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/retail attention piece from Zacks highlights why DUK is drawing investor interest — can increase trading volume and short-term volatility but doesn’t change fundamentals. Duke Energy Corporation (DUK) is Attracting Investor Attention
• Negative Sentiment: Duke is compensating customers after an equipment error caused damage — immediate costs and reputational hit could pressure near-term results and investor sentiment. Duke Energy compensating customers who incurred damage of equipment error
• Negative Sentiment: Duke warned customers about higher energy bills — potential for regulatory scrutiny, political pushback, and customer dissatisfaction that can weigh on the stock if billing concerns escalate. Duke Energy warns its customers about higher energy bills
• Negative Sentiment: Several localized outages were reported (New Hanover County, southern Indiana, others); while many were quickly restored, recurring reliability incidents and customer impact can be a negative near-term reputational and regulatory risk. Power outage impacting more than 400 Duke Engery customers in New Hanover Co.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,407,234.60. This trade represents a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4%

NYSE DUK opened at $116.80 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.63. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $105.20 and a one year high of $130.03. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.83 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.76% and a return on equity of 9.98%. The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.62 earnings per share. Duke Energy’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.98%.

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.