Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Stake in Duke Energy Corporation $DUK

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 0.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,485,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,411 shares during the quarter. Duke Energy makes up about 0.8% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.45% of Duke Energy worth $431,280,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Simon Quick Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 42.2% during the 2nd quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 7,444 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $878,000 after buying an additional 2,210 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 37.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 41,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,153,000 after acquiring an additional 11,409 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its position in Duke Energy by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 88,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,892,000 after purchasing an additional 10,108 shares in the last quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Duke Energy by 12.7% in the 3rd quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 93,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,604,000 after purchasing an additional 10,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lockheed Martin Investment Management Co. now owns 274,630 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,985,000 after purchasing an additional 27,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Duke to $132 from $130 and kept an “Outperform” rating, implying roughly a double-digit upside versus current levels — a clear near-term catalyst for buying interest. BMO raises PT to $132
• Positive Sentiment: Duke says crews have restored power to roughly 131,000 customers after Winter Storm Fern and is advising customers on energy-use tips as cold weather continues — this shows effective operational response and reduces the scope of prolonged outage-related risk and potential regulatory scrutiny. Duke restores power to 131,000
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro commentary: a recent piece highlighting dividend stocks that could benefit if the Fed cuts rates in 2026 reinforces the narrative that regulated utilities (high-yield, stable cash-flow names) may rerate higher on easing rates — supportive context but speculative and dependent on Fed action. Dividend stocks could run if Fed cuts
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated alerts about text and outage scams targeting Duke customers (fake scheduled outage notices) have been widely reported; while currently non-financial, elevated scam activity can increase customer service load, reputational risk and potential short-term distraction for management. Duke warns customers of text scam

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Robert Alexander Glenn sold 8,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.80, for a total value of $1,015,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 11,367 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. The trade was a 41.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $127.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Duke Energy in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $143.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $136.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $135.06.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE:DUK opened at $120.24 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $93.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.50. Duke Energy Corporation has a one year low of $110.51 and a one year high of $130.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $118.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The company had revenue of $8.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.62 EPS. Duke Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be issued a dividend of $1.065 per share. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 13th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.98%.

About Duke Energy

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.