Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 490 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 36,933 shares of the company’s stock after selling 490 shares during the quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.6 %

XEL opened at $69.75 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.37 and a 12 month 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 50-day moving average of $67.75 and a 200 day moving average of $66.80.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on XEL. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.10.

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.