Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• Foundations Investment Advisors LLC has acquired a new position in Xcel Energy, purchasing 3,966 shares valued at approximately $281,000 in Q1.
• Several other hedge funds have also increased their stakes in Xcel Energy, indicating a growing institutional interest in the company.
• Xcel Energy's stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $76.00, according to market analysts.

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 3,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $281,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $34,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $52,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, WFA Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 449.0% in the 1st quarter. WFA Asset Management Corp now owns 1,131 shares of the company's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $73.47 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $69.18 and its 200 day moving average is $69.14. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $57.24 and a fifty-two week high of $74.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.35, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.80.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Xcel Energy's quarterly revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 63.16%.

About Xcel Energy

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.

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