Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stock Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 155.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.24% of Duke Energy worth $201,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares in the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Duke Energy by 11,471.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $781,500,000 after buying an additional 6,719,398 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $264,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,500 shares during the last quarter. Groupama Asset Managment purchased a new position in shares of Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $2,537,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Duke Energy by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,052,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $205,769,000 after acquiring an additional 813,744 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Duke Energy stock traded down $0.46 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $106.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,790,897 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,083,575. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The stock has a market cap of $82.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $111.87.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.73 by ($0.11). Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The firm had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Duke Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.95 EPS for the current year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.045 per share. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Duke Energy's payout ratio is 76.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

DUK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho upgraded shares of Duke Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $122.00 to $118.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $102.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $120.00 to $126.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Scotiabank raised 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. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Duke Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $122.23.

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.