Qsemble Capital Management LP Cuts Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Qsemble Capital Management LP lessened its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 47,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,841 shares during the quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,325,000 after buying an additional 1,179,823 shares in the last quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 54.0% during the 2nd quarter. Nicollet Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,415 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 2,951 shares in the last quarter. Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $311,000. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 38.0% during the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,271,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,910,000 after buying an additional 350,056 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 670,041 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,787,000 after buying an additional 24,083 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $63.85 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $64.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.17, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. 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 posted $0.52 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.92.

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.