Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Increases Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 91.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,305 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,929 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $69.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $69.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.10.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on XEL shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.60.

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.

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