Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 352 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,943 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 352 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $66.06 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $37.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.32 and a 200 day moving average of $63.88. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on XEL. Morgan Stanley cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

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.