Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Boosts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,586,877 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Xcel Energy worth $98,244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 19,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 26,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 3,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.8% during the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the company’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,461 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $52.53 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $54.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.20. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $71.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on XEL. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. TheStreet cut shares of Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.08.

Xcel Energy Profile

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.