Franklin Resources Inc. Buys 551,470 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 11.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,436,205 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 551,470 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.95% of Xcel Energy worth $367,053,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.60.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $70.79 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.67 and a 200-day moving average of $67.32.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

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.