ARS Investment Partners LLC Decreases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

ARS Investment Partners LLC cut its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XELFree Report) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 34,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports 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 stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.67.

Read Our Latest Research Report on XEL

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $66.72 on Tuesday. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.66. The firm has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XELGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS 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 issued a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.99%.

Xcel Energy Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL)

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