Code Waechter LLC Acquires New Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Code Waechter LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,237 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $442,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its position in Xcel Energy by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of a number of research reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $75.80.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.70. 1,130,198 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,680,852. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.60. The stock has a market cap of $39.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.21, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued 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 dividend yield of 3.32%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.