Prosperity Consulting Group LLC Grows Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 91.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,305 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,929 shares during the quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $696,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three 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 target price of $74.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.00 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $69.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.10. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

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.