HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Acquires 778 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 20,916 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 778 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 11.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,436,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,053,000 after purchasing an additional 551,470 shares in the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 101,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,830,000 after purchasing an additional 33,891 shares during the period. RWA Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,573,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $443,869,000 after buying an additional 1,090,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 10,306 shares of the company’s stock valued at $696,000 after buying an additional 286 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $70.79 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.32. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The firm has a market cap of $40.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 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%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.60.

Insider Activity

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.