Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 12,100,000 shares, an increase of 16.9% from the April 30th total of 10,350,000 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 4,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Institutional Trading of Duke Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,562,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,094,327,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676,061 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Duke Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,949,857,000 after acquiring an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after acquiring an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Duke Energy by 17,880.0% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,249,508 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,250,133,000 after acquiring an additional 10,192,503 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Duke Energy by 4.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,921,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,088,158,000 after acquiring an additional 418,014 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on DUK. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.22. 2,094,587 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,456,804. Duke Energy has a 52-week low of $99.21 and a 52-week high of $125.27. The stock has a market cap of $89.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock's 50-day moving average is $118.43 and its 200 day moving average is $114.91.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 9.50%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Duke Energy Company 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.