HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 12.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,604 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,741 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $6,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth 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 acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.
Xcel Energy Stock Performance
XEL traded down $0.98 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.11. 6,689,184 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,308,413. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $68.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $73.38.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.
Xcel Energy Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.28%.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.30.
View Our Latest Research Report on Xcel Energy
About Xcel Energy
(
Free Report)
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.
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