Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 5,700 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,187 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,700 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $11,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after purchasing an additional 3,797 shares during the last quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 523.4% in 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 purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the second quarter worth $954,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on DUK. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.44.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.5%

Duke Energy stock opened at $123.83 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $96.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.66. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $125.77 and a 200 day moving average of $126.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.66 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.78% and a net margin of 15.78%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.72 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 a boost from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.96%.

Duke Energy News Summary

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.