Kowal Investment Group LLC Makes New $215,000 Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Kowal Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 3,292 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. HTLF Bank bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth about $225,000. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 286,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,725,000 after purchasing an additional 4,136 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,000. Finally, CX Institutional purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $251,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $63.25 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $65.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp upped 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, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.57.

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.