Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Increases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 688,464 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,234 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL owned 0.12% of Xcel Energy worth $46,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 185.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 34,960 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,283,000 after buying an additional 22,701 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 63,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,123,000 after buying an additional 2,490 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7,432.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 506,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,074,000 after buying an additional 499,764 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.5% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $496,000 after buying an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 45.4% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 196,612 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,695,000 after buying an additional 61,369 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $70.78 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $67.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 63.66%.

Xcel Energy 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.