Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 56.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,689 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,833 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 447.1% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,470,000 after buying an additional 42,001 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,404,000 after buying an additional 12,477 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $278,000. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 85.0% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,116,000 after buying an additional 106,326 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GEN Financial Management INC. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $301,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XEL. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the 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.

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Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $68.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a fifty day moving average of $67.57 and a 200 day moving average of $66.50. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $49.89 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

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.

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