Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 13,763 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 49.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,397 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,763 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,770,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 447.1% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after acquiring an additional 42,001 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after buying an additional 12,477 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $278,000. GEN Financial Management INC. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $301,000. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,433,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $70.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $68.02 and a 200-day moving average of $66.94. 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 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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 analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on XEL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp upped 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 dropped 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 report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.10.

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.