Yaupon Capital Management LP Acquires 134,336 Shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Yaupon Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) by 143.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,336 shares during the period. Duke Energy makes up 1.0% of Yaupon Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Yaupon Capital Management LP’s holdings in Duke Energy were worth $24,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in Duke Energy in the 4th quarter worth $163,819,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 155.1% during 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 period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC lifted its holdings in Duke Energy by 116.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 2,065,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $222,520,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,581 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Duke Energy by 1.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $269,368,000 after acquiring an additional 561,784 shares during the period. 65.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $128.00 to $123.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Trading Down 1.3 %

DUK opened at $120.20 on Tuesday. Duke Energy Co. has a 52 week low of $96.68 and a 52 week high of $125.27. The company has a market capitalization of $93.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $117.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.11. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current year.

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.