GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC Sells 267 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,695 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267 shares during the period. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,994,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,847,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472,435 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,766,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $480,796,000 after buying an additional 261,426 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 770.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,684,499 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,186,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,264,000 after acquiring an additional 74,690 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,171,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,345,000 after purchasing an additional 106,218 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Bank of America increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $61.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.28 on Thursday, reaching $58.68. 305,363 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,395,986. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.07. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $64.25. The firm has a market cap of $32.60 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.37. 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 issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

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.