Barclays PLC Purchases 3,881,011 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Barclays PLC raised its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 63.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,979,397 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,881,011 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $737,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,725,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,187,929,000 after buying an additional 2,001,018 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,994,000. USA Financial Formulas increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 491.3% in the 4th quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 21,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,583,000 after buying an additional 17,810 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 135.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 2,017,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,729,000 after buying an additional 1,160,205 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,125,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,425,000 after buying an additional 122,487 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $79.22 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.45 billion, a PE ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.74 and its 200 day moving average is $78.44. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 68.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on XEL shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Monday, May 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.63.

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.