Avior Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Avior Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 9.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,809 shares of the company’s stock after selling 494 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $298,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $54.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $71.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $54.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. TheStreet downgraded Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research raised Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.83.

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.