Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $136.50.

DUK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $126.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. 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 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $136.00 in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of Duke Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Duke Energy

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 11,417.7% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 17,668,789 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,084,917,000 after acquiring an additional 17,515,383 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 75,716,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,934,580,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,783 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd bought a new stake in Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $86,309,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake 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 worth $102,254,000 after purchasing an additional 675,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp boosted its position in Duke Energy by 64.4% during the second quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp now owns 1,472,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $173,734,000 after buying an additional 576,674 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy News Summary

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.

Duke Energy Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $116.80 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $119.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $121.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy has a 12-month low of $105.20 and a 12-month high of $130.03. The company has a market cap of $90.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.36, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.50.

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

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 66.98%.

Duke Energy Company 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.