UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Increases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,514,571 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 270,196 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.44% of Xcel Energy worth $169,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,985,136,000 after purchasing an additional 953,002 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,302,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Xcel Energy by 15.9% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,029,223,000 after purchasing an additional 616,853 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 acquired 2,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on XEL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.90.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $68.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 449,529 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,619,426. 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 stock has a market cap of $39.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.94.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given 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 3.31%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is 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.