iSAM Funds UK Ltd Buys Shares of 4,437 Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $300,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. UBS Group upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com cut Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $72.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $41.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average of $69.87 and a 200-day moving average of $68.83. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

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.

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