Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 902,437 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,397 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $66,654,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 394.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $79.04 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $65.21 and a 52-week high of $84.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.39. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.81 and its 200-day moving average is $78.49.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Argus set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.63.

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.