HighMark Wealth Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HighMark Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,419 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,609 shares during the period. HighMark Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on XEL. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $69.94. 2,379,381 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,399,202. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one 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 has a fifty day moving average price of $67.09 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.63. The company has a market cap of $40.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.66%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.