Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Purchases 4,264 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 13.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,942 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,264 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,359,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. GenTrust LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped 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. KeyCorp boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.10.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $69.75 on Monday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $67.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.80. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.37 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results 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%. On average, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy 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.