3,354 Shares in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Purchased by Symphony Financial Ltd. Co.

Symphony Financial Ltd. Co. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. American National Bank acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth about $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on XEL shares. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.29.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $63.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $65.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $62.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.69.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.