Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Invests $306,000 in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,533 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,540 shares of the company's stock worth $2,535,000 after purchasing an additional 9,360 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 55,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,737,000 after purchasing an additional 8,476 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 34,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,306,000 after purchasing an additional 12,822 shares during the period. Heritage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $418,000. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 391,107 shares of the company's stock worth $26,408,000 after acquiring an additional 14,782 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL traded up $1.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $70.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,784,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,585,715. 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 $40.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The stock's 50-day moving average is $69.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.82.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

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.