Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,891,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 49,150 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned approximately 0.24% of Duke Energy worth $203,815,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $163,819,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Duke Energy by 155.1% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,873,321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,832,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138,979 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its holdings in 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. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 779,054 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Duke Energy by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,488,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $269,368,000 after purchasing an additional 561,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 65.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on DUK. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $123.87.

Duke Energy Stock Up 2.0 %

DUK stock opened at $122.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $95.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. 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 $96.68 and a twelve month high of $125.27. The company's 50 day moving average is $117.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.17.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $1.66 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%. Research analysts expect that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.

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