Donaldson Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Donaldson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 460,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,992,000. Xcel Energy comprises about 1.1% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC owned 0.08% of Xcel Energy as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,725,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,187,929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001,018 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 86.6% during the third quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 41,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,339,000 after purchasing an additional 19,214 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at about $6,994,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2,324.9% during the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,716,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth about $1,176,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $78.09 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.26 and its 200-day moving average is $78.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.71. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $84.23. The firm has a market cap of $48.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.45.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.81 earnings per share. Equities 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 disclosed 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. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.44.

Xcel Energy 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.