Gateway Wealth Partners LLC Raises Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.3% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,413 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $127,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 106.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 2,475 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 26,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 116.1% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 282,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,095,000 after acquiring an additional 151,843 shares during the period. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $387,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $65.30 on Tuesday. 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 business has a fifty day moving average of $61.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $56.50. The stock has a market cap of $36.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $65.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during 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 10.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.548 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on XEL shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.36.

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.