Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd Makes New $13.10 Million Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nearwater Capital Markets Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 193,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,096,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,985,136,000 after purchasing an additional 953,002 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,401,901,000 after buying an additional 6,306,380 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,194 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,422,483 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 616,853 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.31 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $69.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.60. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on XEL. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.00.

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.