University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,396,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,064 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,742 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $396,000 after acquiring an additional 663 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 9,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC increased its stake in Duke Energy by 19.6% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 3,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.81.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.8%

Shares of DUK traded down $2.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $114.30. The company had a trading volume of 940,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,430,462. The stock has a market cap of $88.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $118.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.71. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 69.32%.

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.