Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 11,275 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 264,086 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,275 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $14,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 6,684,499 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,186,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,264,000 after acquiring an additional 74,690 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 120.2% in 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. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 10.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,854,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,046,000 after purchasing an additional 174,653 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.79.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $63.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $64.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G 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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.