Bessemer Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,942 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 458 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,076,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 12.0% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 28.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 82,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,910,000 after buying an additional 18,489 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $1,124,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 17.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 873 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $70.73 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.70. The company has a market capitalization of $40.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on XEL. UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.