Shell Asset Management Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Shell Asset Management Co. lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 22.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,617 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,569 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,797,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock opened at $72.38 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $41.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.71. 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 results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Xcel Energy 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.