HighMark Wealth Management LLC Has $501,000 Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HighMark Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 43.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,419 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,609 shares during the quarter. HighMark Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $501,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.61 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 63.66%.

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.