Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Shares Bought by Oak Thistle LLC

Key Points

• Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 876.9% in Q4, adding 32,823 shares to hold 36,566 shares worth about $2.70 million.
• Xcel raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5925 (from $0.57), an annualized $2.37 payout with a 2.9% yield, ex-dividend date March 13 and payable April 20.
• The company reported Q4 EPS of $0.96 (in line with estimates) and revenue of $3.56 billion (below estimates), while analysts have a consensus "Buy" rating and a $88.44 price target.

Oak Thistle LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 876.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 36,566 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 32,823 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company's stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 12,683 shares of the company's stock worth $1,022,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 1,592 shares of the company's stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.2% during the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the company's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warwick Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,970 shares of the company's stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.2%

NASDAQ XEL opened at $80.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.71. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $84.23. The firm has a market cap of $50.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.55, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 69.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.44.

Xcel Energy Profile

Xcel Energy NASDAQ: XEL is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.

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