Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX Makes New Investment in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Cypress Asset Management Inc. TX bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,175 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 124,863 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,562,545 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $922,529,000 after purchasing an additional 135,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,503,503 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $916,168,000 after purchasing an additional 357,967 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of DUK traded down $1.85 on Wednesday, reaching $114.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,797,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,441,528. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $118.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $114.71. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month high of $125.27.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $125.81.

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.