Oak Thistle LLC Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,433,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,404,000 after buying an additional 12,477 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 85.0% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,116,000 after acquiring an additional 106,326 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 64.4% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10,821 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 393.0% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the company's stock worth $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 252,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $532,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.3 %

Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.86 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $64.94. The stock had a trading volume of 2,655,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,725,365. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $68.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.38. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. Xcel Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

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.