Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Purchased by Blair William & Co. IL

Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 38,625 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,011 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,608,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $70.72 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on XEL shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays upped 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

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.