Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton Sells 1,409 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton trimmed its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 34.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,679 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,409 shares during the quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $181,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after purchasing an additional 12,477 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,116,000 after buying an additional 106,326 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after buying an additional 10,821 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 393.0% during the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,708,000 after buying an additional 252,793 shares during the period. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $532,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $63.62 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.88, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.30.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 64.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target 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. UBS Group lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

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.