Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Acquired by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 36.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,928 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,318 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $333,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,091,000 after purchasing an additional 262,191 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,777,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,023,000 after purchasing an additional 11,529 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,625,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 208,233 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% during 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.11 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.02. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.58 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. 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 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.28%.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company 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 assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.30.

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.