Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 21,577 shares of the company’s stock after selling 426 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 160.0% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $75,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ XEL opened at $67.78 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $51.97 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $75.80.

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.