LRI Investments LLC Reduces Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

LRI Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 37.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 1,903 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,134 shares during the quarter. LRI Investments LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $135,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Conning Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Conning Inc. now owns 4,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 16,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $69.17 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $52.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $68.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.62. The company has a market cap of $39.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays upped their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.80.

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.