Matrix Trust Co Buys Shares of 17,736 Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 17,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,310,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $240,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after acquiring an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 48,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after acquiring an additional 14,029 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 13.2% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 2,872 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $448,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $77.93 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.21 and its 200 day moving average is $78.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market cap of $48.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.45. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 69.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, February 6th. Argus set a $86.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Xcel Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.44.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.