Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Purchased by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 23,847 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,282 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,956,000 after purchasing an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,797,000 after buying an additional 777,696 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $66.60 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.81. The stock has a market cap of $38.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

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.