Berger Financial Group Inc Buys 11,415 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Berger Financial Group Inc grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 42.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,217 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,415 shares during the quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,580,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $69.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.06. 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. The stock has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. On average, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

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.

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