HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Buys Shares of 17,819 Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 17,819 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,103,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL remained flat at $53.24 during trading on Tuesday. The stock had a trading volume of 80,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,843,719. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $54.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.82. The company has a market capitalization of $29.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.99, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $65.62.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.11%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 11th. TheStreet lowered Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $59.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, KeyCorp cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.27.

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.