Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,452,968 shares of the company's stock after selling 45,853 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.44% of Xcel Energy worth $151,866,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 104,200 shares of the company's stock worth $6,451,000 after acquiring an additional 16,049 shares during the last quarter. STF Management LP lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. STF Management LP now owns 9,352 shares of the company's stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1,924.3% in the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 292,232 shares of the company's stock worth $18,092,000 after acquiring an additional 277,796 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 108.1% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 686,167 shares of the company's stock worth $42,481,000 after acquiring an additional 356,505 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $483,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on XEL. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $1.47 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $54.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,073,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,108,500. The company has a market cap of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $66.15. The business's 50-day moving average is $54.04 and its 200-day moving average is $57.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 65.77%.

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.