Two Sigma Advisers LP Invests $51.44 Million in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 477,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $51,435,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.06% of Duke Energy as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bcwm LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,815,000. Bailard Inc. raised its position in Duke Energy by 10.9% during the 4th 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 stake in shares of Duke Energy by 25.7% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,755 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,852,000 after acquiring an additional 7,319 shares during the period. First Business Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $384,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 296,463 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,941,000 after acquiring an additional 9,070 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Up 0.6%

DUK stock opened at $116.98 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $119.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.57. Duke Energy Co. has a 12 month low of $99.21 and a 12 month high of $125.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Duke Energy's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Duke Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on DUK. Barclays raised 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. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Seven 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $126.00.

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.

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