T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Purchases 9,428 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 24.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,201 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,428 shares during the quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Hodges Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company's stock worth $3,470,000 after purchasing an additional 42,001 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $278,000. GEN Financial Management INC. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,433,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 14,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.70. 4,467,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,574,902. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $69.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.17. The firm has a market cap of $40.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. 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 currently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.