Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC Grows Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 7.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 39,928 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,727 shares during the quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,696,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $278,000. Royal Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 39,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,697,000 after purchasing an additional 3,108 shares in the last quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 23,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,605,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC now owns 3,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $67.68 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $68.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.24%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.99%.

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.