HUB Investment Partners LLC Reduces Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HUB Investment Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,131 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,107 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during 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 acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $69.11 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $68.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.02. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.58 and a twelve month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.30.

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.