Ausbil Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Ausbil Investment Management initiated a position in Xcel Energy by purchasing 94,283 shares valued at approximately $7.5 million, making XEL its ninth-largest holding at 3.3% of the portfolio. Institutional investors collectively own 78.38% of the stock.
• Xcel Energy’s latest quarterly earnings beat expectations, with EPS of $0.93 versus the $0.79 consensus estimate, although revenue fell 5.1% year over year to $3.12 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925, equivalent to $2.37 annually and a 3.1% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $92.76, compared with the stock’s $76.87 opening price.

Ausbil Investment Management Ltd bought a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 94,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,514,000. Xcel Energy comprises about 3.3% of Ausbil Investment Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company's stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,184 shares of the company's stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Keel Point LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,549 shares of the company's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $76.87 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.56. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.16 and a 52-week high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.14. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%.The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. Xcel Energy's revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 64.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. UBS Group boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. New Street Research set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.76.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy NASDAQ: XEL is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.

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