Checchi Capital Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,846 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Barclays dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of XEL opened at $70.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $40.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $67.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.97.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 63.66%.

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.