Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 268,308 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,116,000.
Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Buying and Selling
In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. StockNews.com raised Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 26th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.
Read Our Latest Research Report on Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy Price Performance
Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $70.85. 1,311,679 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,807,176. The company has a market capitalization of $40.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $69.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.18. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.
Xcel Energy Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.
About Xcel Energy
(
Free Report)
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.
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