AMF Tjanstepension AB Acquires New Shares in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 12,259 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $655,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on XEL. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $61.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $58.36. 2,767,002 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,461,743. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $64.25. The company has a market cap of $32.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.53, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $54.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.06.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (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 11.00%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. 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.