Ameriflex Group Inc. Acquires 8,392 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 94.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,306 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,392 shares during the quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 168.4% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 202.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Collier Financial bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 23rd. BTIG Research set a $94.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Mizuho set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $81.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.60.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $82.52 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.67 and a 200 day moving average of $77.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.13, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.45. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.67%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.