Brown Financial Advisors Lowers Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Brown Financial Advisors trimmed its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 6,913 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,157 shares during the period. Brown Financial Advisors’ holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $467,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth 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.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $70.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $40.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.82. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

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.