Essential Planning LLC. Acquires New Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 65,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,358,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. State Street Corp grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 440.2% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,304,000 after buying an additional 1,186,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.10.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.85 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $50.76 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.64.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued 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%. Equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. 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.