JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 1,022,194 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,022,194 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 3.36% of Xcel Energy worth $1,302,538,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in XEL. State Street Corp increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Brookfield Corp ON increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 440.2% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,427 shares during the period. Finally, Burkehill Global Management LP bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $67,520,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.18. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced 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, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 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.