Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Buys 296,187 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 141.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 506,153 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 296,187 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned 0.09% of Xcel Energy worth $37,800,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 12,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 1,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 2.2% in the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Warwick Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Warwick Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.3%

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $80.74 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.34. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $84.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $50.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 13.76%.The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XEL. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Argus set a $86.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Mizuho set a $86.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.44.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.