Proficio Capital Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 86,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,831,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,470,000 after buying an additional 42,001 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,404,000 after acquiring an additional 12,477 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $278,000. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,116,000 after acquiring an additional 106,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GEN Financial Management INC. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on 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. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $71.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.26. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company 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 a positive change 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 dividend yield of 3.17%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.