Profund Advisors LLC Buys 9,567 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Profund Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 15.6% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,763 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,567 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Heritage Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Tidemark LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, American National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $64.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.91. The company has a market capitalization of $35.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $64.95.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on XEL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.79.

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.