Wealth Alliance Raises Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wealth Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 140.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,094 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,062 shares during the quarter. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,614,000 after acquiring an additional 121,118 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 419,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,947,000 after acquiring an additional 29,307 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,372,000 after acquiring an additional 38,653 shares in the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,120,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 24.8% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,427,000 after acquiring an additional 20,068 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $64.36 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $64.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.00.

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.