Financial Advocates Investment Management Has $658,000 Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Financial Advocates Investment Management cut its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 185.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 34,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after buying an additional 22,701 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 7.3% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 113,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,416,000 after acquiring an additional 7,686 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 23.7% in the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,942 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 564 shares in the last quarter. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 95.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 72,286 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,720,000 after purchasing an additional 35,363 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $66.60 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $38.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.47 and its 200-day moving average is $64.81. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. 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.