Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Acquires 11,000 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 536,542 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,000 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.09% of Xcel Energy worth $36,227,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th 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, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $69.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,994,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,589,632. 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 $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.10. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on XEL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.82.

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.