Blue Trust Inc. Grows Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 53.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,450 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,630 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth about $33,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.64.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $66.86 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.35. 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 (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 company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.99%.

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.