Man Group plc Sells 281,886 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Man Group plc lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 89.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,608 shares of the company's stock after selling 281,886 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,269,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Xcel Energy stock opened at $69.21 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $69.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.90.

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.

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