Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Bought by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 160.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,871 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,925 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 134,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,055,000 after purchasing an additional 6,114 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 33.1% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 7,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $490,000 after purchasing an additional 1,804 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CX Institutional increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,004 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 2,158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.73 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $70.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,985,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,599,829. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $69.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.96. 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 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.90.

Xcel Energy 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.