First Business Financial Services Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Seven 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.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $68.91 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.00. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $69.53. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

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.