Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Stake Increased by Lido Advisors LLC

Lido Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 24,920 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the quarter. Lido Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Activity

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $70.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.60 billion, a PE ratio of 20.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.23. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

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.