Investment Management Corp of Ontario Acquires 69,897 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 380.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,291 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 69,897 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $5,961,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on XEL. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.0%

XEL stock traded down $0.70 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.61. The company had a trading volume of 600,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,564,412. 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 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.61 and a 200 day moving average of $68.60. The company has a market cap of $38.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Xcel Energy 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.