Hartford Investment Management Co. Buys 351 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Hartford Investment Management Co. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 35,495 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 351 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Inc. OK acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $246,000. Summit Trail Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 23,853 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,611,000 after acquiring an additional 1,911 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 31,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,096,000 after acquiring an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc now owns 51,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,452,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 9,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $632,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of XEL opened at $68.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.17.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on XEL shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on 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 boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

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.