Czech National Bank Buys 16,588 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Czech National Bank grew its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 177,691 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 16,588 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $14,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 365.3% in the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of XEL opened at $78.07 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $48.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.16 and a 12 month high of $84.23. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.52.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.14. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%.The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 64.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Mizuho set a $92.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $92.76.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.