Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Purchased by Royal Fund Management LLC

Royal Fund Management LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 97.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,836 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 18,144 shares during the period. Royal Fund Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,405,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company's stock worth $34,614,000 after purchasing an additional 121,118 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company's stock worth $87,372,000 after purchasing an additional 38,653 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,969 shares of the company's stock worth $5,427,000 after purchasing an additional 20,068 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 91.6% in the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 190,600 shares of the company's stock worth $10,245,000 after purchasing an additional 91,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 3,424.0% in the 4th quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 16,598 shares of the company's stock worth $1,028,000 after purchasing an additional 16,127 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on XEL. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised 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, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.35 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.58. 1,867,452 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,187,883. 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 has a market cap of $34.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $61.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.00. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $65.64.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 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.