Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Stake Lessened by Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI cut its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 290 shares during the period. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 26,007 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,580 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,274,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 29.1% during the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 812 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 20.1% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 70,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,359,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. TheStreet cut shares of Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.58.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded down $1.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.96. 6,451,721 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,954,739. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $70.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $53.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.07.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

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.