Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $9.93 Million Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 615.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 140,288 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 120,668 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $9,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 23,057 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,001 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,223,000 after buying an additional 616,853 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank increased its position in Xcel Energy by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 20,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,351,000 after buying an additional 889 shares during the period. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth $510,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $73.44 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $56.69 and a 12-month high of $73.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $69.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.07. The stock has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on XEL. Barclays increased their price objective on 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 increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.80.

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.