Avantax Planning Partners Inc. Invests $203,000 in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Avantax Planning Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. State Street Corp boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Brookfield Corp ON boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 440.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,186,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $64,301,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on XEL. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased 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 owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $68.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.76 and a 12-month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

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.