Stratos Investment Management LLC Cuts Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Stratos Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,360 shares of the company’s stock after selling 942 shares during the period. Stratos Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 520.1% in the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,797,000 after buying an additional 777,696 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on XEL. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of 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, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.64.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $67.95 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50-day moving average of $67.68 and a 200 day moving average of $64.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.99%.

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.