Avestar Capital LLC Boosts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Avestar Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,532 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $68.61 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. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.27.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.19%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.