Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 5,500 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,499 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,500 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $8,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 26.0% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company's stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.90.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $65.65. 3,460,152 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,575,101. The company's fifty day moving average is $69.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $37.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

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.