Toronto Dominion Bank Cuts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Toronto Dominion Bank lessened its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 326,955 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,310 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $22,076,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in 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 worth $1,189,246,000 after buying an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,223,000 after buying an additional 616,853 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on XEL shares. 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment 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 presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ XEL opened at $72.38 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.73 and its 200 day moving average is $68.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted 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). The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. 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%.

About Xcel Energy

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.