St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 19,024 Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 19,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,285,000. Xcel Energy accounts for about 0.9% of St. Louis Financial Planners Asset Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $952,091,000 after buying an additional 262,191 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,170,000 after buying an additional 67,820 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company's stock valued at $163,840,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104,405 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

XEL stock traded up $0.60 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $65.54. 1,080,649 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,453,255. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $63.38.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. UBS Group increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.67.

Xcel Energy 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.