Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 6.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 381,731 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,456 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned about 0.07% of Xcel Energy worth $25,773,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.38. 7,152,902 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,622,581. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.66 and a 200-day moving average of $68.65. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG 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.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.