Janus Henderson Group PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 379.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,182,939 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.70% of Xcel Energy worth $271,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,985,136,000 after buying an additional 953,002 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,194 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock worth $1,189,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,223,000 after purchasing an additional 616,853 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

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

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $70.56 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. 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 50-day simple moving average of $69.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.58. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. Analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.

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