First Heartland Consultants Inc. Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First Heartland Consultants Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 3,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Integris Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.9% during the third quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 22,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on XEL. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Barclays upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $68.65 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $69.35. The business has a 50-day moving average of $64.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Company 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.