Financial Perspectives Inc Decreases Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Financial Perspectives Inc reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 62.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 767 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,279 shares during the period. Financial Perspectives Inc’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 35.8% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 14,825 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 3,905 shares during the period. Edge Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,067,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 49,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,368,000 after buying an additional 9,110 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 23,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,555,000 after buying an additional 8,168 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 191.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 228,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,411,000 after buying an additional 149,898 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $65.65 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $37.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.73.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.90.

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.