Cerity Partners LLC Buys 5,180 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 277,941 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,180 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $18,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 26,143 shares of the company's stock worth $1,707,000 after buying an additional 10,530 shares during the last quarter. Zacks Investment Management acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $417,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company's stock worth $12,404,000 after purchasing an additional 12,477 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 247,997 shares of the company's stock worth $16,194,000 after purchasing an additional 28,508 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $70.75. The stock had a trading volume of 425,533 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,588,507. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $69.15 and its 200 day moving average is $67.70. The stock has a market cap of $40.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is 66.28%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.