Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Cahill Financial Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,678 shares during the quarter. Cahill Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tidemark LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $63.49 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $64.25. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $57.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.40 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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, Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.92.

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.