Meeder Asset Management Inc. Sells 26,597 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 89.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,005 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,597 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.60.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $70.79 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.32.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Analysts expect 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 Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.