Alley Investment Management Company LLC Sells 155 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Alley Investment Management Company LLC trimmed its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,097 shares of the company’s stock after selling 155 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $71.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $41.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a 50 day moving average of $67.53 and a 200-day moving average of $66.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research 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 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

About Xcel Energy

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.