Warwick Investment Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Warwick Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 4,785 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $323,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in XEL. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $635,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 100.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,522 shares of the company’s stock worth $557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 196.1% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 19,054 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $68.73 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.63. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $50.76 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $39.49 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (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 anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 66.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on XEL. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.10.

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.