Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $17.23 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 255,150 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,899 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $17,228,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,152,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,620,693. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.04, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

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.