Rothschild Investment LLC Boosts Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 26.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 731 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hodges Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% in the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,470,000 after buying an additional 42,001 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,404,000 after buying an additional 12,477 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $278,000. ING Groep NV increased its position in Xcel Energy by 85.0% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 106,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GEN Financial Management INC. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $301,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $69.97 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.94. 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 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $40.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus 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.