Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Bought by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) by 28.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,320 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,730 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $788,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $26,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 129.1% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 362 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Burleson & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. 77.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $86.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $71.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 5th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 20th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 12th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.64.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In related news, SVP Frank P. Prager sold 1,138 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.48, for a total transaction of $77,930.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,919,905.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $68.55 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $69.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.89 and a 1-year high of $77.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.40.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 27th. The company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.50% and a net margin of 11.44%. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.60 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 29th were paid a dividend of $0.4875 per share. This represents a $1.95 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 28th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 63.73%.

Xcel Energy Profile

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Xcel Energy, Inc operates as a holding company engaged in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity primarily in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico.