Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 97.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,188 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,471 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,132,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.92.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $61.46 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $56.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.08. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

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). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for 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 11.00%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.57%. Xcel Energy’s 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.