Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC Sells 734 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 8.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,801 shares of the company’s stock after selling 734 shares during the period. Bigelow Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

XEL stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $54.72. The company had a trading volume of 4,477,449 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,425,010. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $71.32. The company has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.75, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.14.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.