RFG Advisory LLC Purchases 1,626 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

RFG Advisory LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 22.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 8,879 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,626 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $629,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,985,136,000 after acquiring an additional 953,002 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,538,000 after buying an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,246,000 after buying an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,223,000 after buying an additional 616,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.51 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.79 and its 200 day moving average is $68.95. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.51 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on XEL. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group raised 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, April 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.90.

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.