Brooklyn Investment Group Increases Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,920 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after acquiring an additional 12,477 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 106,326 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position 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 worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,821 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 393.0% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,708,000 after buying an additional 252,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $532,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $66.72 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $63.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company 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 increased their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.67.

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.