Point72 Hong Kong Ltd Takes $2.38 Million Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 22,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,383,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of DUK. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted 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 acquiring an additional 124,863 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,873,788 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,930,833,000 after purchasing an additional 385,612 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 1.6% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 6.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,001,073 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $862,036,000 after purchasing an additional 499,652 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE:DUK traded up $0.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $116.98. 2,772,465 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,416,239. The business's 50-day moving average price is $119.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $114.54. The company has a market cap of $90.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $99.21 and a 12-month high of $125.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last posted 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $1.045 dividend. 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 69.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DUK has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company 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 given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.