Trexquant Investment LP Sells 158,525 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 51.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 148,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 158,525 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $9,996,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $70.90 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.