CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,060 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.1% during the third quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $66.61 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $38.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.