CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 29,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,851,000. Xcel Energy accounts for about 3.8% of CTC Alternative Strategies Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 15.6% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,062,856 shares of the company's stock worth $3,665,677,000 after purchasing an additional 8,644,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 16.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,521,863 shares of the company's stock worth $1,059,821,000 after purchasing an additional 2,559,321 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,251,587 shares of the company's stock valued at $825,364,000 after buying an additional 162,592 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $576,873,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,504,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,414,000 after buying an additional 583,318 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays upgraded Xcel Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a report on Monday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. TheStreet cut Xcel Energy from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Xcel Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.08.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock remained flat at $53.17 during trading hours on Monday. The stock had a trading volume of 3,802,297 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,519,005. The firm has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.36. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $54.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.26. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $71.32. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 12.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.