Avestar Capital LLC Invests $208,000 in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Avestar Capital LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $208,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $114,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 558,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,493,000 after buying an additional 11,975 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Associated Banc Corp now owns 308,943 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,174,000 after buying an additional 13,352 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,702,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 44.0% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 9,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $652,000 after buying an additional 3,052 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Seven investment 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.62.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $72.92 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.22. The company has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current 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.