Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 2,222 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 57,139 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,222 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy accounts for about 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 15.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,062,856 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,665,677,000 after purchasing an additional 8,644,054 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,521,863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,059,821,000 after buying an additional 2,559,321 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 216.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,627,320 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,981,000 after buying an additional 1,112,510 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 184.9% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,451,483 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,861,000 after buying an additional 942,097 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 247.8% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,284,305 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,511,000 after buying an additional 915,046 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.10 on Thursday, hitting $53.68. 1,637,530 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,361,120. The company has a market cap of $29.83 billion, a PE ratio of 16.15, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $69.85. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.45 and a 200-day moving average of $57.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on XEL. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.83.

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.