Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC Buys 11,745 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 303.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,618 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,745 shares during the quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,055,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third 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 during the period. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 440.2% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $64,301,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.00 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $49.89 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

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.