Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Bought by Centre Asset Management LLC

Centre Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 7.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $277,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,437 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,177,000 after buying an additional 5,180 shares in the last quarter. Brass Tax Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $231,000. Copley Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $532,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 17.7% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,124,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.17.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.11. The stock had a trading volume of 276,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,513,138. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.56. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.99%.

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.