Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 1,562.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 58,055 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 54,562 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
Several brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.82.
Read Our Latest Research Report on XEL
Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.8 %
Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.58 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $69.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,994,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,589,632. 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 $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.59 and a 200 day moving average of $68.15. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Xcel Energy Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.
Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy
In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.
About Xcel Energy
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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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