FourThought Financial Partners LLC Lowers Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

FourThought Financial Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,412 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,615 shares during the period. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $892,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.46 on Friday, hitting $54.25. 3,285,090 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,238,203. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $69.85. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy 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.