Bank of Montreal Can Sells 50,912 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Bank of Montreal Can decreased its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 5.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 878,657 shares of the company's stock after selling 50,912 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.15% of Xcel Energy worth $59,327,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company's stock worth $4,985,136,000 after acquiring an additional 953,002 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,302,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,194 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,483 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,223,000 after acquiring an additional 616,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $70.75. 425,533 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,588,507. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.97 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $69.15 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.70.

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 (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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

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.