Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Acquired by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,384 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,356 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $971,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of XEL. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 440.2% during the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $64,301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.00 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $49.89 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.50.

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%. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. 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.