Everpar Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Everpar Advisors LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,881 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Everpar Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of XEL opened at $66.20 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.39. The company has a market cap of $38.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current 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 $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.99%.

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.