Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 551,470 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,436,205 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 551,470 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.95% of Xcel Energy worth $367,053,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,470,000 after buying an additional 42,001 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,404,000 after acquiring an additional 12,477 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $278,000. GEN Financial Management INC. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $301,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,433,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock traded up $1.24 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $72.14. 3,572,202 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,571,687. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50-day moving average is $68.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.39. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38.

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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 analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Equities research 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 will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued 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 $73.00.

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.