WFA Asset Management Corp Has $69,000 Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

WFA Asset Management Corp trimmed its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 49.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,121 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,099 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $69,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $31,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.96 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $54.72. The stock had a trading volume of 4,477,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,596,921. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $71.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 12.47%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 68.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Barclays raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.83.

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.