Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda Purchases New Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wealth High Governance Capital Ltda acquired a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 37,252 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,515,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth about $635,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 100.4% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,000 after acquiring an additional 4,270 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 6,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 196.1% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,768 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,879,000 after purchasing an additional 19,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.73 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $50.76 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 66.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.10.

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.