ARS Investment Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

ARS Investment Partners LLC decreased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,756 shares of the company’s stock after selling 177 shares during the quarter. ARS Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $66.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $68.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.66. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

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.