Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Sells 1,138 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC trimmed its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 8.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,055 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,138 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,614,000 after purchasing an additional 121,118 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,372,000 after acquiring an additional 38,653 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,427,000 after acquiring an additional 20,068 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 91.6% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 190,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,245,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 8,790 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $63.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $62.49 and its 200 day moving average is $57.43. The company has a market capitalization of $35.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $65.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

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 research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Argus raised shares of 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.57.

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.