Altshuler Shaham Ltd Invests $105,000 in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.10 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $69.26 and its 200 day moving average is $67.73. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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 price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

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.