Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 37,201 shares of the company’s stock after selling 669 shares during the period. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Epiq Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,723 shares of the company’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $63.43 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.34. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $65.64.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on XEL. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Company 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.