Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP Grows Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 325,159 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,709 shares during the period. Xcel Energy accounts for 0.6% of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP owned 0.06% of Xcel Energy worth $20,131,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $27,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $55.14. 1,787,855 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,284,617. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.10 and a 200 day moving average of $57.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $69.71. The company has a market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.83.

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.