First Business Financial Services Inc. Purchases 1,000 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First Business Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 30.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,277 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 440.2% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,427 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,301,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,956,000 after purchasing an additional 892,740 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.73 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $67.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.34. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

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.