SIR Capital Management L.P. Cuts Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

SIR Capital Management L.P. trimmed its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 160,425 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,075 shares during the quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in 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 valued at $1,189,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422,483 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $71.26 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $69.66 and a 200 day moving average of $68.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $41.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.