Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys 22,811 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 212,765 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,811 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $14,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 440.2% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,304,000 after buying an additional 1,186,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,538,000 after buying an additional 1,022,194 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $69.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.27. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on XEL. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company 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.