Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Asset Dedication LLC

Asset Dedication LLC cut its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,988 shares during the quarter. Asset Dedication LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. State Street Corp raised its position in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth about $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,797,000 after acquiring an additional 777,696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $66.86 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.02 and a 200-day moving average of $64.35. The company has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month 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). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were given a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on XEL shares. Barclays decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.64.

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.