Devin W. Stockfish Purchases 2,170 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

XEL stock opened at $68.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $50.76 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.10.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the 4th 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. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of 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 last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 379.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,578,000 after buying an additional 3,182,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.