Sone Capital Management LLC Invests $7.06 Million in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Sone Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 65,550 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,062,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,838,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $521,322,000 after buying an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $269,368,000 after buying an additional 561,784 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.85 during trading on Thursday, reaching $115.59. The company had a trading volume of 4,700,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,432,098. Duke Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $99.21 and a 1-year high of $125.27. 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $119.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.84 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $126.00 to $125.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock 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 data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $125.81.

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.