ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Takes Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,520,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $163,819,000. Duke Energy makes up approximately 1.1% of ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the third quarter valued at $2,537,000. Zimmer Partners LP purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $166,263,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares in the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 116.5% in 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 buying an additional 1,111,581 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $7,852,731,000 after buying an additional 779,054 shares in the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Price Performance

DUK stock opened at $120.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $115.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $113.80. The company has a market capitalization of $93.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. Duke Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $122.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52.

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

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.20%.

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.