Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its Xcel Energy stake by 4.9% in the first quarter, selling 73,833 shares and leaving it with 1,445,804 shares valued at about $114.9 million.
• Despite the sale, institutional ownership remains high, with hedge funds and other investors holding 78.38% of Xcel Energy’s stock, and several smaller funds recently adding to or initiating positions.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on Xcel Energy, with an average "Buy" rating and a consensus price target of $92; the stock recently traded at $80.06 and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,445,804 shares of the company's stock after selling 73,833 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Xcel Energy worth $114,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 365.3% during the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 394.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock traded up $1.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.06. The company had a trading volume of 3,537,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,412,549. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $67.81 and a one year high of $84.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.85.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 68.30%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy NASDAQ: XEL is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.

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