Ameritas Advisory Services LLC Sells 259 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 259 shares during the quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $353,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.50.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

XEL stock opened at $66.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.88. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business 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 is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.