Guggenheim Capital LLC Acquires 42,832 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 231,929 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 42,832 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $15,660,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of XEL. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 236.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422,483 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,653,000. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 440.2% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,304,000 after buying an additional 1,186,427 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $70.27 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.21 and its 200 day moving average is $67.72.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

About Xcel Energy

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.