OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Invests $16.04 Million in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 237,610 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,043,000. Xcel Energy makes up about 1.3% of OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dakota Wealth Management increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. GenTrust LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integris Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,323 shares of the company's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ XEL traded up $1.12 on Friday, hitting $72.38. 7,152,902 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,622,581. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.66 and a 200-day moving average of $68.65. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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