Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. Makes New $54,000 Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 805 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,404,000 after buying an additional 12,477 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its position in Xcel Energy by 85.0% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,116,000 after acquiring an additional 106,326 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 64.4% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,821 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 393.0% in the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 252,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,433,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $66.98 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $68.32 and a 200-day moving average of $63.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $38.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

About Xcel Energy

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.