Entropy Technologies LP Invests $6.08 Million in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK)

Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Duke Energy Co. (NYSE:DUK) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 56,437 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,081,000. Duke Energy makes up 0.6% of Entropy Technologies LP’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 2.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,488,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,016,846,000 after purchasing an additional 442,302 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 11,471.4% during the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 6,777,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $781,500,000 after purchasing an additional 6,719,398 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of Duke Energy by 0.3% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,290,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $264,111,000 after purchasing an additional 6,500 shares during the period. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Duke Energy during the third quarter worth $2,537,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,138,979 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.31% of the company’s stock.

Duke Energy Stock Performance

DUK opened at $115.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $88.85 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $109.73 and a 200-day moving average of $112.72. Duke Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $90.09 and a 52-week high of $121.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $8.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.06 billion. Duke Energy had a return on equity of 9.34% and a net margin of 14.31%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Duke Energy Co. will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Duke Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $1.045 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $4.18 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Duke Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 76.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on DUK shares. Mizuho raised Duke Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $116.00 to $121.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on 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. Scotiabank upped their price target on Duke Energy from $113.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Duke Energy from $119.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered Duke Energy from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Duke Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $122.08.

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.