ProShare Advisors LLC Has $51.50 Million Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

ProShare Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 38.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 762,786 shares of the company's stock after selling 481,294 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Xcel Energy worth $51,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price 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 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

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

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Xcel Energy's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.00.

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.