Greenleaf Trust Increases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Greenleaf Trust increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,822 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $65.11 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $65.64. The company has a market cap of $36.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.74.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp upped 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. Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.54.

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.