Lbp Am Sa Invests $2.17 Million in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Lbp Am Sa acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 30,639 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,169,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 26,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,903,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 15,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,071,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 47.1% in the first quarter. Stratos Investment Management LLC now owns 10,826 shares of the company’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 3,466 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Xcel Energy by 51.9% during the first quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,846 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Cubed Investments LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $68.45 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $52.64 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The firm has a market cap of $39.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.60.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.80.

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.