Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 4,350,967 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lowered its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 70.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,792,486 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,350,967 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $121,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 1,656,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,835,000 after acquiring an additional 186,347 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $304,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $257,000. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $510,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $67.89 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.96 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.49.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.