Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Buys 74,562 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 28.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 336,433 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 74,562 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $22,716,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

XEL stock opened at $70.56 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.56. 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 $40.70 billion, a PE ratio of 20.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

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.