Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,057 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 4,001 shares during the quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.
Get Our Latest Analysis on Xcel Energy
Insider Activity at Xcel Energy
In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Xcel Energy Price Performance
NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.02 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $67.04. The company had a trading volume of 5,788,833 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,583,299. 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 market capitalization of $38.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.53.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.
Xcel Energy Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.28%.
Xcel Energy Company Profile
(
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.
Read More
Before you consider Xcel Energy, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Xcel Energy wasn't on the list.
While Xcel Energy currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Like this article? Share it with a colleague.
Link copied to clipboard.
