First Dallas Securities Inc. Boosts Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First Dallas Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,744 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. First Dallas Securities Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,749,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $896,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,614,000 after buying an additional 121,118 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 419,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,947,000 after buying an additional 29,307 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $9,120,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on 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 target price on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Six 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 stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.92.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of XEL traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.25. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 544,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,264,985. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $57.29 and its 200-day moving average is $55.25. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

About Xcel Energy

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.