Cwm LLC Purchases 35,363 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Cwm LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 95.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,286 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 35,363 shares during the quarter. Cwm LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $4,720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $317,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $697,000 after acquiring an additional 4,208 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $125,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $62.31 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $65.64. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $34.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.