Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Holdings Lifted by Ascent Group LLC

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. by 50.2% during the first quarter, bringing its holdings to $1.37 million.
• Xcel Energy reported $0.75 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst estimates and demonstrating a year-over-year revenue growth of 8.6%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57, with an annualized yield of 3.2%, reflecting a payout ratio of 63.16%.

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 50.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 19,326 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 6,455 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 25,809,978 shares of the company's stock worth $1,827,090,000 after buying an additional 6,109,190 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock worth $247,609,000 after buying an additional 3,454,700 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth $155,510,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,811,241 shares of the company's stock worth $1,473,228,000 after buying an additional 1,520,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 187.0% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,829,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,049 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.50 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.35. 7,080,569 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,201,873. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.12 and a 12 month high of $74.57. The company has a 50 day moving average of $71.92 and a 200-day moving average of $70.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.35.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Mizuho increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.80.

About Xcel Energy

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.