Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Sells 178 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,461,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $68.73 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $39.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $67.58 and its 200-day moving average is $66.34. 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 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

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.