Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Acquired by Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 37.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,443 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,850 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on XEL. Wolfe Research raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $54.25 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $69.85. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $53.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.