State of Tennessee Department of Treasury Trims Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury decreased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 16.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 187,001 shares of the company's stock after selling 37,153 shares during the quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $12,626,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th 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 shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.10.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 3.5 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $71.39 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 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 (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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