Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Holdings Increased by Electron Capital Partners LLC

Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 992,120 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 182,758 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy comprises 3.5% of Electron Capital Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Electron Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.17% of Xcel Energy worth $66,988,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,985,136,000 after buying an additional 953,002 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,422,483 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,223,000 after buying an additional 616,853 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other 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 purchased 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 owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com raised Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.09.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.58 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $69.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.97 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.