CRA Financial Services LLC Invests $207,000 in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

CRA Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 3,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 18.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 5,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares in the last quarter. Priebe Wealth Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $206,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 269.4% during the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 3,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 2,503 shares in the last quarter. LVW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $306,000. Finally, Strong Tower Advisory Services raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 21.9% in the 3rd quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 31,715 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,071,000 after purchasing an additional 5,704 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $62.31 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $65.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97. The company’s fifty day moving average is $62.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.18.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.