Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $17.22 Million Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC decreased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 320,285 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,623 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned 0.06% of Xcel Energy worth $17,215,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of XEL. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. Barclays raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $53.41 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $65.62.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The company’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

About Xcel Energy

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.