Xponance Inc. Trims Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Xponance Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,676 shares of the company’s stock after selling 251 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $5,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Conning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.1% in the first quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the first quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 16,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.80.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $68.62 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

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.