Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Acquires 17,041 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 203,776 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 17,041 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $13,885,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $1.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $72.38. 7,152,902 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,620,693. The firm has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $69.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.75.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

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.