Bayban Makes New Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Bayban bought a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 18,230 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,346,000. Xcel Energy comprises 1.2% of Bayban’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Abound Wealth Management raised its position in Xcel Energy by 394.5% in the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $77.41 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $66.32 and a 12 month high of $84.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 14.14%.Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $90.62.

About Xcel Energy

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.