PharVision Advisers LLC Invests $393,000 in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

PharVision Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,820 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $393,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 389.8% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 17,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 13,615 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,073 shares of the company's stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 5,213 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 17.5% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,815 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC now owns 3,764 shares of the company's stock valued at $254,000 after acquiring an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,943 shares of the company's stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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, Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $72.32 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $69.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.83. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $41.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The company's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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