Geode Capital Management LLC Buys 616,853 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 616,853 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.64% of Xcel Energy worth $1,029,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth about $1,219,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $127,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 48,200.0% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 16,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after buying an additional 16,388 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $323,000. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Xcel Energy by 9.2% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 83,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,479,000 after acquiring an additional 7,061 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on XEL. UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $70.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $40.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. On average, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.