Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Acquired by Strong Tower Advisory Services

Strong Tower Advisory Services boosted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 33,089 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,374 shares during the period. Strong Tower Advisory Services’ holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four 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 company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock opened at $66.72 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.58. 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. The stock has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.99%.

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.