Gries Financial LLC Increases Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Gries Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,724 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $251,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 1.1% in the third quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.9% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.64.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $66.86 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.35.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were given a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

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.