KeyCorp Has Negative Outlook of Duke Energy FY2026 Earnings

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) – Stock analysts at KeyCorp dropped their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Duke Energy in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $6.71 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $6.72. KeyCorp currently has a “Sector Weight” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Duke Energy’s current full-year earnings is $5.96 per share.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on DUK. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $112.04 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $110.49. Duke Energy has a fifty-two week low of $90.09 and a fifty-two week high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $86.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,888,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 59.2% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 23,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,697,000 after acquiring an additional 8,699 shares during the period. Commerce Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 269,217 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,041,000 after acquiring an additional 15,069 shares during the last quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $501,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1,258.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 49,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,689,000 after purchasing an additional 45,708 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th will be issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 15th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

About Duke Energy

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.