Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Bought by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,591 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 461 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,614,000 after purchasing an additional 121,118 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.4% during 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 buying an additional 38,653 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 24.8% in the 1st 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 during the period. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 190,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,245,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 8,790 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $64.46 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, 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 quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $65.76. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.91.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted 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 company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of several research analyst 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 research note on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.