Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Acquires 19,355 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 629,598 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 19,355 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL owned about 0.11% of Xcel Energy worth $38,978,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Country Trust Bank raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 535 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $53.17. The stock had a trading volume of 3,010,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,542,844. The company has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $54.78 and a 200 day moving average of $58.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $71.32.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research raised Xcel Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $63.08.

Xcel Energy 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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