Federated Hermes Inc. Purchases 271,125 Shares of Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) by 8.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,476,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 271,125 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 0.9% of Federated Hermes Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $424,041,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of Duke Energy stock opened at $117.68 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $105.20 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The firm has a market cap of $91.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $116.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $116.66. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 15.40%. The firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Corporation will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.065 per share. This is an increase from Duke Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $4.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DUK shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Duke Energy from $125.00 to $124.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $132.00 price target on Duke Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $127.25.

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.