Bank of Nova Scotia Raises Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 16.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 159,351 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 22,722 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $12,659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 365.3% in the 1st quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Advocate Investing Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Xcel Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Xcel Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp reiterated an Overweight rating on Xcel Energy and raised its longer-term earnings estimates, including FY2027, FY2028, FY2029, and FY2030, signaling confidence in the utility’s multi-year growth profile.
• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp also lifted its FY2029 EPS forecast to $5.34 from $5.13 and FY2028 EPS to $4.89 from $4.77, which supports the view that earnings can improve steadily over time.
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary also pointed to Xcel as potentially undervalued relative to its earnings and dividend profile, with additional investor focus on clean energy spending and AI-driven power demand as possible longer-term tailwinds.
• Neutral Sentiment: KeyCorp’s near-term FY2026 EPS estimate was slightly reduced to $4.12 from $4.13, a small change that does not materially alter the broader thesis.
• Neutral Sentiment: Other recent coverage included Morgan Stanley reiterating a Hold rating and Zacks noting the company is due to report earnings next week, keeping attention centered on the upcoming results rather than any major new fundamental shock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $81.67 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.16 and a twelve month high of $84.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $79.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $79.29.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. Xcel Energy's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is currently 68.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $92.65.

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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