B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. cut its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 620 shares during the period. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lantz Financial LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 57.3% in the 2nd quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 6,254 shares of the company’s stock valued at $334,000 after purchasing an additional 2,277 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $227,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 113,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,067,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. &PARTNERS boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 354.6% in the 2nd quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 27,329 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,455,000 after buying an additional 21,317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 122,567 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,546,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.17.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $66.40 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $67.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41.

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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 issued a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.99%.

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.