Guggenheim Capital LLC Acquires 42,832 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 22.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 231,929 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,832 shares during the quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $15,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on XEL. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.00.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $70.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.72. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. 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 3.24%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

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.