Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Acquired by Creative Planning

Creative Planning grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 116.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 282,619 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 151,843 shares during the period. Creative Planning owned about 0.05% of Xcel Energy worth $15,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 770.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,684,499 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,025 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,325,000 after buying an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 932,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,122,000 after buying an additional 882,505 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lifted 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. Argus raised shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $65.30 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $61.02 and its 200-day moving average is $56.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $65.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.548 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

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.