Graypoint LLC Raises Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,106 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,062,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,665,677,000 after purchasing an additional 8,644,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,521,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,059,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,559,321 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,251,587 shares of the company’s stock valued at $825,364,000 after acquiring an additional 162,592 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $576,873,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,504,622 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,414,000 after acquiring an additional 583,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $53.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.24. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $71.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on XEL. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 11th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.08.

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.