Vennlight Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Vennlight Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 153,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,331,000. Xcel Energy makes up approximately 9.8% of Vennlight Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company's stock worth $3,470,000 after purchasing an additional 42,001 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $278,000. GEN Financial Management INC. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 14,825 shares of the company's stock worth $1,001,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 134,107 shares of the company's stock worth $9,055,000 after buying an additional 6,114 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped 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. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $79.00 to $78.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.90.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $69.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,059,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,629,719. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.12, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

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

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.