Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Purchases New Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 218,716 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,282,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 770.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company's stock worth $405,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,684,499 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company's stock worth $127,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,025 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company's stock worth $111,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 932,505 shares of the company's stock worth $50,122,000 after purchasing an additional 882,505 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.41 on Tuesday, reaching $63.43. 3,396,582 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,162,300. The stock has a market cap of $35.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.34.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released 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). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 3.46%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Xcel Energy 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.