Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Has $2.14 Million Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,717 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 4,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 107.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $322,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 164.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 134,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,722,000 after acquiring an additional 84,012 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $53.41. 3,726,729 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,455,004. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $65.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $54.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $56.40.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on XEL shares. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

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.