Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,235 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,178 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $8,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,470,000 after acquiring an additional 42,001 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after purchasing an additional 12,477 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $278,000. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,116,000 after buying an additional 106,326 shares during the period. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 10,821 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $68.73 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $67.63 and its 200-day moving average is $66.63. The stock has a market cap of $39.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.76 and a twelve month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 66.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.10.

Xcel Energy Profile

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.