Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 18.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,735 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,191 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,156,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 394.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.06.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $81.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $51.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.56 and a 12 month high of $84.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.40.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 14.14%.The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.30%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.