IFS Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

IFS Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,156 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. IFS Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $78,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of XEL. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake 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 worth $991,956,000 after acquiring an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,091,000 after purchasing an additional 262,191 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,170,000 after purchasing an additional 67,820 shares during the period. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying 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 1.3 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $64.94 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $37.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $68.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.67.

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.