Cerity Partners LLC Raises Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 145.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,806 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,804 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,285,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $302,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 8.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,318,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,163,000 after buying an additional 104,140 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,385,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 12.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 3,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $53.76 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $71.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.14. The firm has a market cap of $29.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.36.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.22%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. TheStreet downgraded Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Barclays raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $63.08.

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.