Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Alley Investment Management Company LLC

Alley Investment Management Company LLC trimmed its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,097 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,625,848 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 208,233 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 155,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,526,000 after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 16,778 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,133,000 after purchasing an additional 1,329 shares during the period. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 440.2% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,455,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,186,427 shares during the period. Finally, Mission Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 14,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $981,000 after buying an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $71.90 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. 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 market capitalization of $41.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.26.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

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.