Corundum Group Inc. Acquires 8,358 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Corundum Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 143.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,187 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 8,358 shares during the period. Corundum Group Inc.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Xcel Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL traded up $0.52 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $66.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,235,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,227,652. The company has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.66. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 64.99%.

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.