Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Increases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 19.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,301 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 21.7% during the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 196.1% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,879,000 after acquiring an additional 19,054 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 19,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 978 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 155.8% in the 3rd quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 21,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,435,000 after purchasing an additional 13,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on XEL. KeyCorp lifted their target price 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.10.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $68.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.65. The stock has a market cap of $39.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.76 and a twelve month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase 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 3.32%. 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.