Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Sells 3,716 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV decreased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 53.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,183 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,716 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.54 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day moving average is $67.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.92, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 63.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy 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.