SIR Capital Management L.P. Reduces Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

SIR Capital Management L.P. reduced its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 160,425 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,075 shares during the quarter. SIR Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Brookstone Capital Management increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 6,066 shares of the company's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,417 shares of the company's stock valued at $470,000 after purchasing an additional 1,953 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 3,622 shares of the company's stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 47.9% in the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 19,202 shares of the company's stock worth $1,297,000 after purchasing an additional 6,219 shares during the period. Finally, St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $1,285,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of XEL traded down $2.13 on Wednesday, hitting $70.19. 1,588,938 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,618,041. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.97 and a one year high of $73.38. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $40.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.00.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.