Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 17,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,124,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lantz Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 57.3% during the second quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 6,254 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,617 shares of the company’s stock valued at $248,000 after purchasing an additional 960 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,103,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,954,000 after purchasing an additional 502,231 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.0% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 36.2% during the second quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 4,752 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.5 %

XEL opened at $68.12 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.40. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.62.

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.