OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Increases Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp grew its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,173 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,942 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. OCONNOR A Distinct Business Unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $16,043,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 438,059 shares of the company's stock worth $29,578,000 after purchasing an additional 45,189 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 381,731 shares of the company's stock worth $25,773,000 after purchasing an additional 21,456 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,153 shares of the company's stock valued at $483,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 380.0% during the fourth quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 88,291 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,961,000 after buying an additional 69,897 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded down $1.92 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.40. 917,347 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,615,451. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.83. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $40.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

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.