GAMMA Investing LLC Has $202.86 Million Stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 14,268.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,663,183 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,651,608 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned 0.21% of Duke Energy worth $202,858,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bcwm LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 31,921 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,439,000 after buying an additional 3,139 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,852,000 after buying an additional 7,319 shares during the last quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $384,000. Finally, Alley Investment Management Company LLC increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 76,477 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,240,000 after purchasing an additional 20,414 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on DUK shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on 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. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $125.81.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of DUK traded down $0.35 on Thursday, hitting $115.63. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,442,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,449,926. The company has a market capitalization of $89.88 billion, a PE ratio of 20.25, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Duke Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $99.21 and a fifty-two week high of $125.27. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $118.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.89.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.17. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. The business had revenue of $8.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Duke Energy's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company 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 $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.32%.

Duke Energy 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.