Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Purchased by Blue Chip Partners LLC

Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 200,530 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $13,540,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.61 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The firm has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $67.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.36. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XEL. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

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.