Sentry Investment Management LLC Acquires Shares of 2,611 Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $170,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of XEL. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $65.82 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $63.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.41. The stock has a market cap of $36.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $68.36.

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

Xcel Energy 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.