Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) Shares Bought by Cinctive Capital Management LP

Cinctive Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 178.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 319,628 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 204,764 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises approximately 1.8% of Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $34,437,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,097,796 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,949,857,000 after buying an additional 124,863 shares during the last quarter. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Duke Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $313,000. May Hill Capital LLC bought a new position in Duke Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $287,000. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Duke Energy by 69.0% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,159 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,202,000 after acquiring an additional 4,557 shares during the period. Finally, Lokken Investment Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Duke Energy by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Lokken Investment Group LLC now owns 2,549 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Duke Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DUK opened at $121.08 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $115.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $113.75. The company has a market capitalization of $94.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.48. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $92.75 and a twelve month high of $122.50.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $1.045 dividend. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.20%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on DUK shares. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.