Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 7,766,048 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 261,426 shares during the period. Xcel Energy comprises approximately 0.5% of Victory Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $480,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 26,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 29.1% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 70,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,359,000 after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.84. The company had a trading volume of 1,691,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,371,446. The stock has a market cap of $29.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $70.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.00.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.83.

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.