IFM Investors Pty Ltd Has $10.44 Million Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd lessened its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 16.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 159,911 shares of the company’s stock after selling 31,863 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integris Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.9% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.54.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.2 %

XEL opened at $65.11 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.30 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $65.64. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.91 and its 200 day moving average is $57.74.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results 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 during 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, 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 was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.37%.

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.