CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Cuts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 300,393 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,096 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.05% of Xcel Energy worth $20,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XEL. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,175,000 after buying an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 236.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in 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 worth $1,189,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,653,000. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 440.2% during the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,427 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $71.61. The company had a trading volume of 5,639,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,606,823. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $41.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.47 and a 200-day moving average of $67.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 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, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.09.

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.