Natixis Advisors L.P. Increases Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 111,048 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,261 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $6,874,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 15.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,062,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,665,677,000 after buying an additional 8,644,054 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 16.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,521,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,059,821,000 after buying an additional 2,559,321 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,766,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,796,000 after buying an additional 261,426 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.6% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,739,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $328,396,000 after buying an additional 90,819 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 11.6% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,303,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,440,000 after purchasing an additional 550,508 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

XEL opened at $55.24 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $30.69 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average of $53.05 and a 200-day moving average of $57.81. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $69.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.548 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.