Larson Financial Group LLC Buys 56,864 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 492.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,401 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,864 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $4,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the third 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,091,000 after acquiring an additional 262,191 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,777,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,023,000 after purchasing an additional 11,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,625,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 208,233 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $68.00 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.41. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.89 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 66.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.