ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Increases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,656,325 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 186,347 shares during the period. Xcel Energy comprises about 0.8% of ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $111,835,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. GenTrust LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 23.2% during the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integris Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their price objective 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. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

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

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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

About Xcel Energy

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.