KKM Financial LLC Buys 7,617 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

KKM Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 25.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 37,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,617 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 1.5% of KKM Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest holding. KKM Financial LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $4,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in DUK. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 28,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,497,000 after buying an additional 2,356 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 48.7% during the third quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 225,953 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,962,000 after acquiring an additional 73,963 shares during the period. Fairfield Bush & CO. raised its stake in Duke Energy by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fairfield Bush & CO. now owns 4,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 132,152 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,354,000 after purchasing an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $327,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $136.00 price target on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Mizuho set a $130.00 target price on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $141.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.80.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Regulatory progress — Duke secured settlement support for its planned Carolinas utility combination, clearing a key hurdle toward consolidation and potential regulatory approval that could simplify operations and reduce costs. Duke Energy secures settlement support for Carolinas utility combination
• Positive Sentiment: Clean-energy growth — Duke opened its largest battery-storage facility in Knightdale, expanding firming capacity for renewables and supporting long-term earnings stability as the utility transitions generation mix. Duke Energy’s largest battery storage facility now open in Knightdale
• Positive Sentiment: Community resilience programs — The Duke Energy Foundation announced $500k in HERO grants to strengthen emergency preparedness across South Carolina, a modest but constructive CSR/operational resilience signal. SC agencies, nonprofits eligible for Duke Energy’s $500K emergency preparedness grants
• Neutral Sentiment: Debt/maturity management — Duke completed a $1.5B offering of 3.000% convertible notes, which helps refinance near-term maturities and preserves liquidity, though convertibles carry potential future dilution. Duke Energy Completes $1.5 Billion Convertible Notes Offering
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational update — Local outage restoration updates (e.g., New Whiteland) and community feeding programs show steady operational responsiveness but have limited market impact. Duke Energy: Power should be back on in New Whiteland by 4 p.m. Duke Energy teams up with Blessings in a Backpack to feed Floyd County students over spring break
• Negative Sentiment: Major equity raise announced — Duke disclosed a $6 billion common-stock offering, which is likely why some investors are cautious: a large follow-on can materially dilute existing shareholders and pressure the share price despite funding needs. Duke Energy (DUK) Announces $6 Billion Common Stock Offering
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory and political pushback — North Carolina residents are raising alarms over rising energy bills and pushing for audits amid rate-hike requests; public opposition can complicate ratemaking and future returns. NC residents sound alarm over rising energy bills, demand audit of Duke Energy
• Negative Sentiment: Local legal dispute — A homeowner is fighting Duke in a high-profile Lake Norman boats lawsuit, a reputational/legal overhang with modest direct financial risk but possible local regulatory attention. Woman fights Duke Energy lawsuit that wants her famous big boats off Lake Norman

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $133.17 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $123.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $122.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.33. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $111.22 and a 1 year high of $134.12. The firm has a market cap of $103.56 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $7.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.57 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.41% and a return on equity of 9.66%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.41%.

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total value of $123,001.32. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $498,142.56. The trade was a 19.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of Duke Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total value of $868,156.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.