Korea Investment CORP Sells 148,426 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 472,745 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148,426 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.08% of Xcel Energy worth $31,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.30.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $69.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.