Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 7,795 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 42.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,684 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,795 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tidemark LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $30,000. American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.54.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $64.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.76. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $64.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.77%.

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.