Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Bought by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 157,193 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,937 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,985,136,000 after purchasing an additional 953,002 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,401,901,000 after buying an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,302,538,000 after buying an additional 1,022,194 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422,483 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,223,000 after acquiring an additional 616,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

XEL stock opened at $70.56 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.61 and its 200 day moving average is $68.56. The firm has a market cap of $40.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on XEL. Evercore ISI boosted 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, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.