Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Sells 4,833 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 56.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,689 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,833 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $249,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $68.00 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $49.89 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. On average, analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. 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.