Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Acquired by O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 13.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 115,075 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,248 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $12,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in DUK. Groupama Asset Managment bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Duke Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $222,520,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake 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 last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Price Performance

NYSE DUK opened at $122.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $92.75 and a 12 month high of $122.50. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.73.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.05. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $1.045 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Duke Energy’s payout ratio is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on DUK shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $123.87.

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.