Creative Planning Increases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 286,755 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares during the period. Creative Planning owned about 0.05% of Xcel Energy worth $18,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. &PARTNERS purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $323,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,465,000. Epiq Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $5,504,000. Finally, First National Bank Sioux Falls increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 4,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

XEL opened at $63.43 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $65.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $62.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.62. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 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 business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 yield of 3.46%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.29.

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.