KeyCorp Has Bearish Forecast for Duke Energy FY2026 Earnings

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) – Equities researchers at KeyCorp lowered their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Duke Energy in a research report issued on Tuesday, December 3rd. KeyCorp analyst S. Karp now anticipates that the utilities provider will post earnings per share of $6.71 for the year, down from their prior estimate 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.

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

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $121.69.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK stock opened at $114.02 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $115.01 and its 200-day moving average is $110.49. 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 has a 52 week low of $90.09 and a 52 week high of $121.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.08 billion, a PE ratio of 20.96, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.47.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its position in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter worth $166,263,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Duke Energy by 13,829.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,125,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $129,782,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117,526 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Duke Energy by 65.7% during the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $205,769,000 after buying an additional 813,744 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 15th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 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.