Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. Sells 4,981 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. trimmed its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,920 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,981 shares during the quarter. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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 dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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 report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $70.78 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $40.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.82. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results 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 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s 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.