Tradition Wealth Management LLC Purchases 3,527 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Tradition Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 14.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,244 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Tradition Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,381,000 after buying an additional 3,429,353 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised 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 worth $1,189,246,000 after buying an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $83,653,000. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 440.2% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $70.13 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.38 and its 200 day moving average is $67.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week 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 cap of $40.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders 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 is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

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.