O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Acquires 33,891 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 50.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,155 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,891 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $6,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $70.72 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.97 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

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.