KeyCorp Comments on Duke Energy’s FY2030 Earnings (NYSE:DUK)

Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) – Equities research analysts at KeyCorp issued their FY2030 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Duke Energy in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, July 22nd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp forecasts that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $8.60 for the year. KeyCorp has a “Overweight” rating and a $139.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Duke Energy’s current full-year earnings is $6.72 per share.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $138.00 to $134.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Duke Energy from $143.00 to $138.00 in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $138.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Duke Energy from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.62.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE DUK opened at $129.36 on Monday. Duke Energy has a one year low of $113.89 and a one year high of $134.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $125.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.02. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $100.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.38.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.44 billion. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.76 earnings per share.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased 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 buying an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 31,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,686,000 after buying an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. AXA S.A. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 35,458 shares during the period. Finally, Nebula Research & Development LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $954,000. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Duke Energy news, CEO Harry K. Sideris sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 owned 96,102 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,952,205.74. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Louis E. Renjel sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.15, for a total transaction of $438,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 21,415 shares in the company, valued at $2,680,087.25. The trade was a 14.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.085 per share. This represents a $4.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.06. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.24%.

Key Headlines Impacting Duke Energy

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect Duke Energy’s upcoming earnings to grow and identify factors that could support an earnings beat. A favorable report could reinforce investor confidence in the company’s regulated growth outlook. Duke Energy Earnings Expected to Grow
• Positive Sentiment: Duke says expanding data-center demand should create long-term customer savings, suggesting a potential source of load growth and infrastructure investment. The company also promised not to raise rates to cover data-center costs, which may reduce near-term political and customer backlash. Duke Energy Says Data Center Growth Will Deliver Long-Term Customer Savings Duke Energy Promises No Rate Hikes
• Neutral Sentiment: Comparable utility results were encouraging: DTE Energy beat second-quarter estimates despite a year-over-year earnings decline, while CenterPoint Energy reported an adjusted earnings beat and 10.7% revenue growth. The reports provide sector context but do not directly change Duke’s earnings outlook. DTE Energy Q2 Earnings CenterPoint Energy Q2 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: The Duke Energy Foundation announced another $1 million for North Carolina nonprofits, taking total customer-assistance and community support above $65 million since 2016. The initiative may strengthen community relations but has limited direct earnings impact. Duke Energy North Carolina Customer Assistance
• Negative Sentiment: North Carolina officials and an attorney general are pressing Duke to protect ratepayers from data-center-related costs. Although Duke reduced its proposed rate increase and says data centers will not drive customer rate hikes, continued political and regulatory opposition could delay approvals or constrain returns. Attorney General Calls for Data Center Protections Duke Energy Rate Increase Opposition
• Negative Sentiment: Storm-related outages left thousands of Duke customers without power, creating potential near-term restoration costs and reputational pressure. Duke Energy Power Outages

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.