O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Grows Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 50.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 101,155 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,891 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $6,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 11.0% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 99,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,489,000 after acquiring an additional 9,821 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $1,219,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $647,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $127,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 48,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 16,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,072,000 after buying an additional 16,388 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. Three research 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of XEL opened at $70.72 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is 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 3.22%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 66.28%.

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.