Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Has $428,000 Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lowered its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,338 shares of the company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,404,000 after purchasing an additional 12,477 shares during the period. ING Groep NV increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 85.0% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,116,000 after acquiring an additional 106,326 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $278,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 64.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 393.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 252,793 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

XEL stock opened at $66.86 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.35.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.64.

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.