Equitable Trust Co. Acquires 350 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Equitable Trust Co. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,163 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 350 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,994,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,847,000 after buying an additional 1,472,435 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 6,684,499 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,186,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,264,000 after buying an additional 74,690 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,171,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,345,000 after buying an additional 106,218 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $87,372,000 after buying an additional 38,653 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of XEL opened at $61.23 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.15. The firm has a market cap of $34.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.37.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during 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%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.92.

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.