Boston Trust Walden Corp Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Boston Trust Walden Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 3,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of XEL. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $64.46 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.91. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $65.76. The company has a market cap of $35.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.