Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases 12,102 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 143.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,565 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,102 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.4% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,503 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,339,000 after buying an additional 1,050 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 28,328 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,850,000 after purchasing an additional 6,225 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Xcel Energy by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 19,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 862 shares during the last quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Curi RMB Capital LLC now owns 5,218 shares of the company’s stock worth $341,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 39,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,601,000 after buying an additional 5,450 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. 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. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of XEL opened at $69.75 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.37 and a one year high of $73.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

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.