Barclays PLC Has $157.46 Million Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Barclays PLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 84.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,332,000 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,069,214 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.41% of Xcel Energy worth $157,457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.0% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,984 shares of the company's stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 28.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 82,826 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,910,000 after purchasing an additional 18,489 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth about $1,124,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 17.7% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,795 shares of the company's stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.13. The stock had a trading volume of 2,784,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,585,715. 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 stock has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The business's 50 day moving average is $69.38 and its 200 day moving average is $67.84. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought 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 directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company 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.