Brown Financial Advisors Takes $687,000 Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Brown Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 12,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $687,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth about $30,000. American National Bank acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Finally, 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 research report on Monday, August 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $65.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,937,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,225,593. The company has a market cap of $36.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $65.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The firm's fifty day moving average is $61.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.59.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.