Wrapmanager Inc. Makes New Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wrapmanager Inc. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 4,577 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $283,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 37.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 313,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,914,000 after acquiring an additional 84,670 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 131,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,525,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Xcel Energy by 5.0% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 172,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,876,000 after buying an additional 8,242 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 166.9% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 162,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,065,000 after buying an additional 101,521 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 559,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,989,000 after buying an additional 95,629 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

XEL stock traded up $0.31 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $55.24. The company had a trading volume of 4,350,946 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,315,395. The stock has a market cap of $30.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $69.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $53.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.81.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on XEL. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. TheStreet cut Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.83.

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.