SageView Advisory Group LLC Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,838 shares of the company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,043 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 51,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,473,000 after buying an additional 1,356 shares during the period. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 64.0% during the 4th quarter. BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC now owns 97,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,588,000 after buying an additional 38,091 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $306,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 37,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,535,000 after buying an additional 9,360 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. UBS Group increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $70.27 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $69.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.72.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.