Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Raises Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 65.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 155,500 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 61,500 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $67.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.47.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

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.