Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 19,230 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 179,013 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 19,230 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $12,086,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,797,000 after buying an additional 777,696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $68.61 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The business’s 50 day moving average is $67.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.27. The company has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

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.