American Century Companies Inc. Sells 614,936 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,161,673 shares of the company's stock after selling 614,936 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.55% of Xcel Energy worth $213,476,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.6% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 75,673 shares of the company's stock worth $4,944,000 after acquiring an additional 6,620 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,393 shares of the company's stock worth $487,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 12,974 shares of the company's stock worth $847,000 after purchasing an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,413,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,170,000 after buying an additional 67,820 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

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Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.40 during trading on Thursday, hitting $69.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,870,700 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,308,224. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $68.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.16. The firm has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on XEL. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.30.

About Xcel Energy

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.