Peoples Bank KS Sells 766 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Peoples Bank KS reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 50.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 765 shares of the company’s stock after selling 766 shares during the period. Peoples Bank KS’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $50,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded down $0.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.73. The company had a trading volume of 3,052,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,206,958. The company has a 50 day moving average of $61.55 and a 200 day moving average of $56.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $65.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

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.