Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Shares Bought by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,775 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. KBC Group NV lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.9% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 47,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,811 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.1% during the first quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.0% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 113,366 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,025,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alta Advisers Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth about $218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $79.69 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market cap of $47.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $83.01. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $76.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%.Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 24th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.54.

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.