Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 20,825 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its position in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 15.4% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 114,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,825 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $14,957,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Duke Energy by 62.7% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 42,680 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,003,000 after buying an additional 16,450 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 132,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,534,000 after purchasing an additional 24,497 shares during the last quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 423.6% during the 4th quarter. Moseley Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,143,000 after buying an additional 7,887 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 359,829 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,176,000 after buying an additional 14,137 shares during the period. Finally, Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 187.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisors Management Group Inc. ADV now owns 78,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,177,000 after purchasing an additional 51,088 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp reiterated an Overweight rating on Duke Energy and raised its longer-term earnings outlook, nudging up FY2027, FY2028, and FY2029 EPS estimates. The firm also kept a $139 price target, suggesting confidence in Duke’s earnings growth trajectory.
• Positive Sentiment: Duke Energy unveiled its Customer Protection Plus framework, designed to support rapid data center-driven power demand while aiming to deliver billions in customer savings. Investors may view this as a constructive way to monetize infrastructure growth without triggering excessive pushback from customers. Duke Energy (DUK) Unveils Customer Savings Plan To Back Data Center Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company also announced a higher quarterly dividend, reinforcing Duke Energy’s appeal as an income stock and helping attract dividend-focused investors. Can Duke Energy (DUK) Justify Its Price As Its Higher Dividend Draws Attention?
• Neutral Sentiment: North Carolina leaders and regulators are pressuring Duke Energy to make its federal data-center pledge legally binding. This could support accountability and customer trust, but it also raises regulatory scrutiny around future growth plans.
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory criticism of Duke’s proposed rate increases remains a headwind, with North Carolina’s attorney general saying the lowered request is still too high. That could add pressure to future profitability if rate approvals become more difficult.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.37, for a total value of $2,487,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 owned 21,415 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,680,087.25. This represents a 14.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $130.54 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.77 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $125.79.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 15.49%.The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.76 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS 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. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Evercore lifted their price objective on Duke Energy from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Capitol Sec Mgt lowered shares of Duke Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.62.

Duke Energy 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.