Farringdon Capital Ltd. Invests $519,000 in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Farringdon Capital Ltd. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 7,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $519,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.6% during the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,124,000. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $532,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $70.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.76.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 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%. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.