Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 6,592 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 9.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 77,846 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,592 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $5,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.21 on Wednesday, hitting $67.40. 2,706,168 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,539,709. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market cap of $38.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $67.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.15. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.25%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is 63.66%.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.