Howard Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,809 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 892,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,797,000 after acquiring an additional 777,696 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $69.94 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.09 and a 200 day moving average of $65.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. 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 earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

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.