Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Acquired by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 3,777,002 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,529 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $255,023,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $69.97 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $40.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.94. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

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.