Kestra Investment Management LLC Invests $221,000 in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three 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 MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $69.07 on Thursday. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.52. The firm has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.66%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.