Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 47.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,202 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,219 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.52 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $66.72. The company had a trading volume of 3,235,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,227,652. The stock 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. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.66.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.