Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 572,498 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,192 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.10% of Xcel Energy worth $42,613,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,725,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,187,929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001,018 shares during the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its position in Xcel Energy by 86.6% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 41,406 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,339,000 after acquiring an additional 19,214 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at about $6,994,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2,324.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,716,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 31,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,511,000 after purchasing an additional 15,083 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $76.95 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $48.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.71. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $84.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.06.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 13.76%.The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $88.44.

Xcel Energy Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.