Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Acquires 13,076 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 246,498 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 13,076 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $16,644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought 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 Activity

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

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Three 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.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.30.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of XEL stock traded down $0.98 on Friday, hitting $69.11. 6,689,184 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,311,866. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $68.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.96. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.