Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New $83.65 Million Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,238,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $83,653,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.22% of Xcel Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.00 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.50. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.89 and a twelve month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. 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. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. Barclays dropped their price target 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. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued 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 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.