46,391 Shares in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Bought by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 46,391 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,998,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of DUK. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $163,819,000. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 14.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 625,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,027,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $218,454,000 after buying an additional 585,600 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

Shares of DUK opened at $116.51 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.55 billion, a PE ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $119.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.64. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $99.21 and a one year high of $125.27. 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 (NYSE:DUK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $8.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.70 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS 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. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is 69.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on DUK. 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 research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price target on Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Duke Energy from $127.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.