Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 82,790 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,311,697 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 82,790 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.23% of Xcel Energy worth $88,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. This represents 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. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $71.61 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, analysts predict 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 was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.18%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Four equities research 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.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.09.

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.