Rafferty Asset Management LLC Increases Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 255,150 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,899 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $17,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 26.0% during the 4th 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.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 3.6%

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $71.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.65. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $41.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

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.