E Fund Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 35.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,197 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,161 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $553,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,956,000 after purchasing an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,091,000 after purchasing an additional 262,191 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,777,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,023,000 after purchasing an additional 11,529 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,625,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 208,233 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $68.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.89 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company’s fifty day moving average is $67.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

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.