Rafferty Asset Management LLC Purchases 7,899 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 255,150 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,899 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $17,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brookstone Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 35.7% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 1,953 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 19,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,297,000 after acquiring an additional 6,219 shares during the period. Finally, St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,285,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on XEL. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $71.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.97 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $41.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.65.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.