Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Purchases Shares of 19,620 Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 19,620 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% during 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. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% during 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,483 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $83,653,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock opened at $68.80 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $39.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.61. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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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