Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Holdings Increased by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 1,562.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,055 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 54,562 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,920,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company's stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. GenTrust LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the company's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,323 shares of the company's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $71.08. The company had a trading volume of 722,856 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,563,830. The company has a market capitalization of $41.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $69.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.18.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.57 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

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

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.