Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Buys Shares of 218,716 Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 218,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,282,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Procyon Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.0% in the third quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 26,772 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $175,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 95,940 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,265,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 162,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,605,000 after acquiring an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 25.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,754 shares of the company’s stock valued at $180,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $63.02 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $35.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $62.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.27.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.