Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Grows Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,916,787 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 80,744 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $129,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,985,136,000 after acquiring an additional 953,002 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,483 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,223,000 after purchasing an additional 616,853 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $69.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $69.58 and its 200 day moving average is $68.02. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.18.

Insider Activity

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.