Bank of America Corp DE Has $2.40 Billion Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Bank of America increased its Xcel Energy stake by 1.7% in the second quarter, holding 29.9 million shares worth approximately $2.40 billion, or 4.79% of Xcel.
• Analysts remain broadly bullish, with an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $92.41; recent targets ranged from $90 to $102.
• Xcel reported quarterly EPS of $0.93, beating estimates of $0.79, though revenue declined 5.1% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, representing a 3.2% annualized yield.

Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,933,748 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 491,937 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned approximately 4.79% of Xcel Energy worth $2,403,680,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 365.3% during the 1st quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. First Bancorp Inc ME bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $36,000. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Strategic Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth about $54,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Monday, June 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.41.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.8%

XEL opened at $74.16 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.35 and a twelve month high of $84.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $78.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.39. The stock has a market cap of $46.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The company's revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 64.93%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based electric and natural gas utility holding company that serves customers across parts of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Through its operating companies, Xcel provides electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas distribution and related energy services.

The company operates a diversified generating fleet that includes wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other resources.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.