Kimelman & Baird LLC Purchases New Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Epiq Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the first quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. increased its position in Xcel Energy by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 12,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $65.32 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.22 and a 200-day moving average of $56.59. The company has a market cap of $36.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $65.64.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on XEL. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.36.

About Xcel Energy

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.