Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Holdings Raised by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,051,708 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 52,322 shares during the quarter. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.19% of Xcel Energy worth $66,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 15.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew 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 valued at $1,059,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559,321 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,766,048 shares of the company's stock worth $480,796,000 after acquiring an additional 261,426 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.6% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,739,186 shares of the company's stock worth $328,396,000 after acquiring an additional 90,819 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 11.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,303,047 shares of the company's stock worth $303,440,000 after acquiring an additional 550,508 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, TheStreet cut Xcel Energy from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $54.25. 3,285,090 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,238,203. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36. The business's fifty day moving average is $53.24 and its 200 day moving average is $57.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $69.85.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

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.