Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Increases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,867 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Quilter Plc purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth about $255,201,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $53.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $54.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $71.32. The firm has a market cap of $29.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.56, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 12.47%. The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.548 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.12%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 68.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.08.

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.