O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Raises Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 50.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,155 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 33,891 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $6,830,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company's stock worth $4,985,136,000 after purchasing an additional 953,002 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third 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 last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,538,000 after buying an additional 1,022,194 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $952,091,000 after acquiring an additional 262,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 19.9% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,573,894 shares of the company's stock valued at $443,869,000 after acquiring an additional 1,090,208 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

XEL stock traded up $1.24 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $72.14. The company had a trading volume of 3,572,202 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,569,493. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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.