Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Purchased by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 47.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,820 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,203 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,955,000 after buying an additional 6,684,499 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 120.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,025 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 932,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,122,000 after purchasing an additional 882,505 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $63.68 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The stock has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.69.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date was 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 Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.29.

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.