Bleakley Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,847 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,282 shares during the quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,610,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XEL. State Street Corp boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,091,000 after buying an additional 262,191 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,170,000 after buying an additional 67,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on XEL. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $66.60 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.47 and its 200 day moving average is $64.81. The company has a market cap of $38.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.99%.

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.