Whipplewood Advisors LLC Acquires New Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $158,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after purchasing an additional 892,740 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,091,000 after purchasing an additional 262,191 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,777,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $255,023,000 after purchasing an additional 11,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,170,000 after purchasing an additional 67,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $70.76 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $40.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.36 and its 200 day moving average is $65.97.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors 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 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

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.