Apollon Wealth Management LLC Boosts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,950 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,955,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 447.1% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after acquiring an additional 42,001 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after purchasing an additional 12,477 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $278,000. ING Groep NV increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 85.0% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,116,000 after buying an additional 106,326 shares during the period. Finally, GEN Financial Management INC. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $301,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on XEL. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock opened at $66.60 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $73.38. The firm has a market cap of $38.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.95.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.66%.

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.