Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Bought by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 45.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,495 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 56,528 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $12,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. State Street Corp grew its position in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during 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 during the period. Brookfield Corp ON boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,186,427 shares during the period. Finally, Burkehill Global Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,520,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $70.24 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.58 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a fifty day moving average of $68.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.94.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Xcel Energy Company 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.