IHT Wealth Management LLC Reduces Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

IHT Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 38.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,496 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,092 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 447.1% during the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company's stock worth $3,470,000 after purchasing an additional 42,001 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $278,000. GEN Financial Management INC. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $301,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,433,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 14,825 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,001,000 after acquiring an additional 3,905 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.82.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Monday, hitting $69.58. The stock had a trading volume of 2,994,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,589,632. The firm has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The business's 50-day moving average is $69.58 and its 200 day moving average is $68.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is 67.06%.

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.