HighTower Advisors LLC Increases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 12.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,604 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,741 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $6,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON raised its position 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 valued at $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 440.2% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,304,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $64,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on XEL. 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 lifted 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp lifted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.10.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $70.28 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $73.38. The firm has a market cap of $40.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

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.