Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC Has $423,000 Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,258 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $423,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after acquiring an additional 12,477 shares during the period. ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 85.0% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 106,326 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 64.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,821 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 393.0% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 252,793 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $532,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $66.72 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.41 and a 200-day moving average of $63.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. 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.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The company 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%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.67.

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.