Federated Hermes Inc. Has $424.04 Million Holdings in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 8.5%, now holding approximately 3.48 million shares valued at $424.04 million.
• Duke Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.065 per share, reflecting a slight increase from the previous dividend and a yield of 3.62%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Duke Energy with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $127.25.

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 8.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,476,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 271,125 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up about 0.9% of Federated Hermes Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.45% of Duke Energy worth $424,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 buying an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in Duke Energy by 61.5% during the 4th quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 4,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 1,642 shares in the last quarter. Allianz SE acquired a new position in Duke Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $179,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 27.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 892,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $96,080,000 after purchasing an additional 193,381 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Duke Energy by 66.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 381,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,260,000 after purchasing an additional 151,914 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $122.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Duke Energy from $122.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $127.00 price target (up from $124.00) on shares of Duke Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $127.25.

Duke Energy Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:DUK traded up $1.57 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $123.21. 2,676,245 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,588,867. The stock has a market cap of $95.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a twelve month low of $105.20 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $117.22 and a 200 day moving average of $116.81.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 15.40% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from Duke Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 70.65%.

Duke Energy 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.