Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 253 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. decreased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,338 shares of the company’s stock after selling 253 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,676 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after buying an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 76,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,158,000 after acquiring an additional 7,873 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,450 shares of the company’s stock valued at $682,000 after acquiring an additional 3,630 shares during the period. Finally, CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $207,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of XEL opened at $66.86 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.35. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.