Vanguard Group Inc. Has $4.99 Billion Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 953,002 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Xcel Energy worth $4,985,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.30.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $68.86 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.58 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The firm has a market cap of $39.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.