Advisory Alpha LLC Purchases New Shares in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,813 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,955,000 after buying an additional 6,684,499 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% in the 2nd 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 boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% during the first 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 in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $65.15 on Thursday. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $61.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.65. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $65.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.20 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38.

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). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.548 per share. 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, 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 report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

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.