Brookstone Capital Management Boosts Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Brookstone Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,066 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Brookstone Capital Management’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,405 shares during the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at about $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,956,000 after acquiring an additional 892,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,797,000 after acquiring an additional 777,696 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $66.72 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $68.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.51. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38. 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 stock has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 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 firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased 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 research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Xcel Energy 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.