Duke Energy Corporation $DUK Shares Bought by Federated Hermes Inc.

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 0.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,485,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,411 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up approximately 0.8% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $431,280,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,825,000 after acquiring an additional 3,797 shares during the period. Patton Fund Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $217,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the period. Finally, Global Trust Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Duke Energy by 162.9% during the 2nd quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Up 1.2%

Duke Energy stock opened at $120.24 on Wednesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $110.51 and a 12-month high of $130.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $93.51 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $121.47.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.51 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.98% and a net margin of 15.76%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Trending Headlines about Duke Energy

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

Insider Transactions at Duke Energy

In other Duke Energy 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 11,367 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,234.60. The trade was a 41.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on DUK. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $137.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Duke Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $143.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $135.00 to $126.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.06.

Duke Energy Company Profile

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.