Spire Wealth Management Sells 344 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Spire Wealth Management trimmed its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,893 shares of the company’s stock after selling 344 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 134,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,350,000 after purchasing an additional 4,891 shares in the last quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $1,161,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 17.0% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 47,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,973,000 after purchasing an additional 6,953 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 51.4% in the first quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 17,182 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $3,392,000. 77.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $60.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.87. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.73 and a 52-week high of $72.99. The firm has a market cap of $33.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.16, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.43. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.69 and its 200 day moving average is $61.28.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 15th were paid a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 14th. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.82%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $76.00 to $67.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.00.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, purchases, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, oil, wood/refuse, and wind energy sources.