Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Access Financial Services Inc.

Access Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,158 shares of the company’s stock after selling 329 shares during the period. Access Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $416,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. LVW Advisors LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 167.1% during the 4th quarter. LVW Advisors LLC now owns 12,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,000 after acquiring an additional 7,822 shares in the last quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $423,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,018,000 after purchasing an additional 5,213 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 36.5% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 1,476 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $256,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on XEL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $66.72 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.58.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

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.