Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Lowers Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.0% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 241,528 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,030 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $19,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 202.2% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 62.9% in the second quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 518 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 98.8% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Mizuho set a $86.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday. Citigroup increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings raised Xcel Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.21.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $74.26 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $77.23 and its 200 day moving average is $75.21. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.79.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.51%.

Xcel Energy Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.