iA Global Asset Management Inc. Has $4.18 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,894 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,063 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $4,179,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,956,000 after acquiring an additional 892,740 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,091,000 after acquiring an additional 262,191 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,777,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,023,000 after acquiring an additional 11,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,625,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,817,000 after acquiring an additional 208,233 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $70.09 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.58 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.70.

Xcel Energy 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.