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

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 34.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 25,808 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,571 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,819,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. James T. Borello RIA grew its position in Xcel Energy by 59.6% during the 3rd quarter. James T. Borello RIA now owns 367 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.9% in the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 3.3% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,692 shares of the company’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.7% in the first quarter. Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. now owns 9,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Group Ltd. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 6.1% in the third quarter. Wealth Group Ltd. now owns 2,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $86.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Mizuho set a $92.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, September 29th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Finally, BTIG Research set a $92.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, October 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.71.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $80.17 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $75.01 and its 200 day moving average is $78.31. The company has a market cap of $51.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.61. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $68.72 and a 1 year high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $4.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 17.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.14 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc is a regulated electric and natural gas utility headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Through its operating companies, it generates, purchases, transmits and distributes electricity, and delivers natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The company serves customers in eight states: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Its electric system includes a mix of generation resources, supported by transmission and distribution networks.

Xcel Energy traces its roots to Northern States Power Company, founded in 1909.