34,486 Shares in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Bought by Woodline Partners LP

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 34,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,328,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in 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 increased its holdings 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 valued at $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP increased its holdings 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 valued at $247,609,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454,700 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of 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. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL traded up $0.23 on Friday, reaching $69.70. The company had a trading volume of 404,957 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,613,920. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.84 and a 200-day moving average of $68.95. The company has a market capitalization of $40.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.24, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for 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%. Xcel Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.