Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Buys 5,071 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 12.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,196 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,071 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 31.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 25,809,978 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,827,090,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109,190 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $155,510,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,719,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,799,000 after buying an additional 1,746,066 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,811,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,473,228,000 after buying an additional 1,520,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,818,158 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,296,377,000 after acquiring an additional 986,170 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $79.67 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $47.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.58 and a 12 month high of $83.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%.The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. BTIG Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Evercore ISI started coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.29.

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.