Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 11,275 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 264,086 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,275 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $14,105,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,614,000 after purchasing an additional 121,118 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its position in Xcel Energy by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 419,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,947,000 after purchasing an additional 29,307 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,372,000 after purchasing an additional 38,653 shares during the last quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $9,120,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 24.8% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,969 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,427,000 after purchasing an additional 20,068 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $64.17. The stock had a trading volume of 4,842,784 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,284,198. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $64.95. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $60.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.66 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. The company's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on XEL. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. 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 price objective for the company. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $63.79.

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.