Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 18.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 472,344 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 73,036 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.08% of Xcel Energy worth $33,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,581,436 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% during the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 236.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 379.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.5%

XEL stock traded up $0.36 on Friday, hitting $66.64. 6,825,109 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,576,911. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.97 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market cap of $38.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on XEL shares. UBS Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.80.

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.