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

Yaupon Capital Management LP increased its stake in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK - Free Report) by 143.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,935 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 134,336 shares during the period. Duke Energy comprises about 1.0% of Yaupon Capital Management LP's holdings, 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 and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Duke Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $173,000. Invst LLC raised its stake in shares of Duke Energy by 19.4% during the third quarter. Invst LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $298,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth about $2,012,000. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd increased its holdings in Duke Energy by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 23,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,250 shares during the period. Finally, Chelsea Counsel Co. raised its position in Duke Energy by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Chelsea Counsel Co. now owns 2,701 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. 65.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Duke Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of DUK traded down $0.84 on Friday, hitting $119.86. 2,717,155 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,389,365. The company has a market capitalization of $93.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.39. Duke Energy Co. has a one year low of $97.49 and a one year high of $125.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $118.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $114.29.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.50% and a net margin of 14.90%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Duke Energy from $114.00 to $121.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. UBS Group raised their target price on Duke Energy from $123.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Duke Energy from $129.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 21st. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Duke Energy from $132.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Duke Energy from $111.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven research 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 an average target price of $123.87.

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.