Sei Investments Co. Acquires 22,424 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,225,361 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,424 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $82,737,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.30.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $69.11 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.05. The stock has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.30%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.28%.

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.