Aviva PLC Sells 280 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Aviva PLC trimmed its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) by 3.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,011 shares of the company’s stock after selling 280 shares during the period. Aviva PLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Old North State Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Archer Investment Corp bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 77.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 17th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.50.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $65.93 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.89 and a 12-month high of $77.66. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.49. The company has a market capitalization of $36.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 11.34%. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Frank P. Prager sold 737 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $47,905.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,340 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,907,100. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Xcel Energy news, SVP Frank P. Prager sold 737 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $47,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,100. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Timothy John O’connor sold 15,625 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.59, for a total value of $1,087,343.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $452,195.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

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Xcel Energy, Inc operates as a holding company engaged in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity primarily in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico.