Boothbay Fund Management LLC Buys 15,912 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 37.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 58,625 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 15,912 shares during the quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company's stock worth $3,470,000 after acquiring an additional 42,001 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $278,000. GEN Financial Management INC. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $301,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,433,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 35.8% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 14,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,001,000 after buying an additional 3,905 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of 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 eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.60.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $69.00 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average is $69.58 and its 200 day moving average is $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. The firm 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 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 quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is 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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