Bailard Inc. Has $743,000 Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 14.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,005 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,495 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $53.96 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.77 and a 200-day moving average of $58.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $70.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.548 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. TheStreet downgraded Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $62.58.

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.