Zacks Research Lifts Earnings Estimates for Duke Energy

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lifted their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for shares of Duke Energy in a research note issued on Wednesday, December 18th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $1.54 per share for the quarter, up from their previous estimate of $1.50. The consensus estimate for Duke Energy’s current full-year earnings is $5.95 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Duke Energy’s Q3 2025 earnings at $1.68 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $6.34 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.73 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.73 EPS.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis.

DUK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp downgraded Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $138.00 price objective on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $122.23.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $108.28 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $83.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $113.92 and its 200 day moving average is $111.03. Duke Energy has a 1-year low of $90.09 and a 1-year high of $121.25.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DUK. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 41.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.86%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 76.84%.

Duke Energy Company Profile

Duke Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an energy company in the United States. It operates through two segments: Electric Utilities and Infrastructure (EU&I), and Gas Utilities and Infrastructure (GU&I). The EU&I segment generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity in the Carolinas, Florida, and the Midwest.