Two Sigma Advisers LP Grows Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 140.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 638,100 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 372,200 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.11% of Xcel Energy worth $43,085,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of XEL. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the fourth 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 during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $329,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,939 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,483 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.2%

XEL opened at $72.21 on Tuesday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.81. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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