NBC Securities Inc. Grows Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

NBC Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 1,547,766.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 46,436 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 46,433 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock worth $446,175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,581,436 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock worth $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company's stock worth $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock worth $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $68.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 449,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,578,949. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.88 and a 200-day moving average of $68.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group lifted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays lifted their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities 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, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.90.

Insider Activity

In related 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.