Blue Trust Inc. Has $441,000 Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Blue Trust Inc. lowered its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,529 shares of the company’s stock after selling 291 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 185.2% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 34,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 22,701 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 286,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,725,000 after buying an additional 4,136 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $301,000. Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 23.4% during the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,640,000 after buying an additional 4,760 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on XEL. Barclays dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. 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 raised their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.61 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.66%.

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.