CoreFirst Bank & Trust Buys New Shares in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,514 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of XEL. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON increased its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $83,653,000. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 440.2% during the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,304,000 after buying an additional 1,186,427 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burkehill Global Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $67,520,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on XEL. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.30.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.86 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $39.56 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.58 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.12.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 66.28%.

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.