Nicollet Investment Management Inc. Purchases 4,051 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nicollet Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 92.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,415 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,051 shares during the quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company 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 target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.60.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

XEL opened at $70.79 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.32. The company has a market capitalization of $40.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.97 and a 1-year high of $73.38. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL) last released 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.