Gotham Asset Management LLC Reduces Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Gotham Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,336 shares during the quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in Duke Energy were worth $8,489,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $163,819,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $201,832,000 after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its position 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 worth $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Duke Energy by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,885,939 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,852,731,000 after purchasing an additional 779,054 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its position in Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $269,368,000 after purchasing an additional 561,784 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on DUK shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $130.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on 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 assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.00.

Duke Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of DUK stock traded up $0.33 on Friday, hitting $116.27. The stock had a trading volume of 2,966,683 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,422,806. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $90.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $99.21 and a 1 year high of $125.27. The company's 50 day moving average price is $119.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $114.53.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 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.