Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Stock Position Lifted by First Western Trust Bank

First Western Trust Bank lifted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,419 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Navellier & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth about $2,735,000. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $905,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,211,081 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,042,000 after purchasing an additional 299,484 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Electron Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 93.7% in the 1st quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,921,636 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,033,000 after purchasing an additional 929,516 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $86.00 price objective on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Cowen started coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.29.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock opened at $80.72 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.14. The company has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $83.01.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.