Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,854 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,717 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Mutual Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 32.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 4,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 1,152 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 107.1% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 8,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $322,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 14,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $855,000 after buying an additional 636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 164.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 134,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,722,000 after buying an additional 84,012 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.8 %

XEL traded down $0.44 on Friday, reaching $53.41. 3,726,729 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,455,004. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $65.62. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.40. The company has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TheStreet lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

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.