Beck Bode LLC Acquires New Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Beck Bode LLC 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 disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 148,453 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,191,000. Xcel Energy comprises about 2.1% of Beck Bode LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of XEL. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on XEL. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

Xcel Energy stock traded down $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $53.73. The company had a trading volume of 6,805,635 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,416,988. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm's fifty day moving average is $53.57 and its 200-day moving average is $58.00. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $70.60.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.77%.

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.

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