LRI Investments LLC Buys New Shares in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

LRI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,603 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $145,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $57.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,434,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,516,956. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $64.77. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.77%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.