Vaughan David Investments LLC IL Grows Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 688,464 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,234 shares during the quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $46,485,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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 dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp boosted 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $70.78 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.15 and a 200-day moving average of $65.82. The stock has a market cap of $40.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 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.