Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,178,956 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 616,853 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.64% of Xcel Energy worth $1,029,223,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 236.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Brookfield Corp ON boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company's stock worth $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $83,653,000. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 440.2% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,427 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Activity

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired 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 owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on XEL. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded down $4.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $67.89. 5,680,733 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,564,148. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $68.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.45. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $74.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.