Capital Research Global Investors Has $228.90 Million Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,390,043 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,068 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors owned approximately 0.59% of Xcel Energy worth $228,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped 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 raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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, UBS Group lifted 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.09.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $71.61. The company had a trading volume of 5,639,047 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,603,522. 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 $41.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.47 and a 200-day moving average of $67.90. 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

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.