Nikulski Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 4,104 Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Nikulski Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.6% during 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 raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 19.6% in the first 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. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,686,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the second quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 20.9% during the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 45,835 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,409,000 after purchasing an additional 7,918 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 6,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.67, for a total transaction of $868,156.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,809,633.69. This represents a 23.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Regis T. Repko sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.86, for a total transaction of $123,001.32. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 3,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $498,142.56. This represents a 19.80% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Duke completed the sale of its Tennessee Piedmont Natural Gas business to Spire for $2.48 billion; management says proceeds will help fund its large regulated capital plan, improving liquidity and lowering near-term funding pressure. Duke Energy completes sale of its Tennessee Piedmont Natural Gas business to Spire
• Positive Sentiment: Regulators approved a new ~$2.5 billion natural gas power plant in South Carolina — a large regulated asset that should expand rate base and future allowed returns. That supports longer-term earnings and capital recovery. Duke Energy wins approval for new $2.5B natural gas power plant in South Carolina
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and outlets continue to list Duke as a defensive, dividend-paying utility during market volatility; that positioning can support investor demand but is not a direct catalyst. The Zacks Analyst Blog — Duke Energy
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-term trading headlines noted the stock recently snapped a multi-session winning streak and has seen intraday gains on some sessions — market flow rather than new fundamentals. Duke Energy snaps six consecutive sessions of gains
• Negative Sentiment: Duke’s proposal to raise rates by as much as 18% in parts of North Carolina triggered a public hearing and strong customer opposition; regulatory pushback and political risk could delay or reduce the requested recovery and dent near-term earnings visibility. Duke Energy seeks 18% rate increase; Public hearing set for April 1
• Negative Sentiment: Reports show customer disconnections doubled for Duke Energy Carolinas in February and customers flooded hearings and media with complaints about rising bills — heightening reputational and regulatory scrutiny. That social/political pressure increases the chance regulators dial back rate requests or require mitigation. Disconnections among Duke Energy Carolinas customers doubled in February
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple news pieces and videos document customer backlash and hearings urging rejection of the hike; elevated media attention can increase political risk and contribute to short-term volatility. Battle Over Billing: Duke Energy customers decry proposed rate hikes

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.6%

Duke Energy stock opened at $130.88 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $126.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $123.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $111.22 and a twelve month high of $134.49. The company has a market capitalization of $101.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 9th. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.01. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 15.41%.The business had revenue of $7.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were given a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and issued a $141.00 target price on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen raised Duke Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $139.00 price objective on Duke Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.80.

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.