Vise Technologies Inc. Purchases 3,729 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Vise Technologies Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 68.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,164 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,729 shares during the quarter. Vise Technologies Inc.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of XEL. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after buying an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock worth $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock worth $247,609,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454,700 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% during the 4th 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. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,578,000 after buying an additional 3,182,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.90.

Insider Activity

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.88 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.93. 2,425,599 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,631,437. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Wednesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Xcel Energy 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.