Sierra Ocean LLC Takes $26,000 Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $26,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $68.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.04 and a 200 day moving average of $65.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given 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 3.20%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on XEL shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upped their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

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.