Two Sigma Investments LP Increases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 78.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 909,412 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 399,691 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.16% of Xcel Energy worth $61,403,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,401,901,000 after acquiring 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 4th 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 in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock worth $1,189,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on XEL. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.90.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, hitting $69.73. 3,077,431 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,636,211. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.85 and a 200-day moving average of $68.90.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The business 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%. Xcel Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

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.