Mather Group LLC. Buys 466 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 15.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,408 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $230,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.64.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $67.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $67.58 and its 200 day moving average is $64.79. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.99%.

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.