Quarry LP Grows Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Quarry LP grew its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 361.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,929 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,077 shares during the period. Quarry LP’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after purchasing an additional 668 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,124,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,795 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after purchasing an additional 873 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $532,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $69.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.06, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.58 and a 200 day moving average of $68.10.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.60.

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.