Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Holdings Trimmed by Advisory Alpha LLC

Advisory Alpha LLC trimmed its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 47.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,530 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,139 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $66.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.88. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 64.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut 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 research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

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.