iA Global Asset Management Inc. Increases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 8.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,894 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,063 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $4,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 124,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,160,000 after purchasing an additional 5,799 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 75,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,944,000 after buying an additional 6,620 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $487,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its position in Xcel Energy by 7.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 12,974 shares of the company's stock worth $847,000 after acquiring an additional 946 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth about $462,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.30.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.93 on Tuesday, reaching $67.93. 3,110,216 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,307,183. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.58 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $39.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.12. 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 (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 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

About Xcel Energy

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.