Anchor Capital Advisors LLC Sells 33,760 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Anchor Capital Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 433,980 shares of the company’s stock after selling 33,760 shares during the quarter. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $29,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 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 worth approximately $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $70.76 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $40.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

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.