Viking Fund Management LLC Buys 40,000 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

by · The Markets Daily

Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Free Report) by 32.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 162,400 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy comprises 1.7% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 4.3% during 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. Epiq Partners LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 5,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.36.

Get Our Latest Research Report on XEL

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $62.31. 2,822,159 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,169,201. The company’s 50 day moving average is $62.06 and its 200 day moving average is $57.18. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $65.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.62 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.52%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.77%.

Xcel Energy Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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