St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC Takes $1.29 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 19,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,285,000. Xcel Energy comprises approximately 0.9% of St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after acquiring an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,797,000 after acquiring an additional 777,696 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $64.94 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on XEL. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. KeyCorp lifted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.67.

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.