IHT Wealth Management LLC Cuts Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

IHT Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 38.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,496 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,092 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $776,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 106.5% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 56,769 shares of the company's stock worth $3,833,000 after buying an additional 29,281 shares during the last quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Tradition Wealth Management LLC now owns 27,244 shares of the company's stock worth $1,839,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Sharpepoint LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $211,000. MML Investors Services LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 73,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,934,000 after purchasing an additional 708 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 151,999 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,263,000 after purchasing an additional 7,061 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company'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 transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $70.06. The company had a trading volume of 1,401,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,575,902. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $40.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $69.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.17.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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

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.