Citigroup Inc. Boosts Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. has increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. by 28.1%, owning approximately $64.41 million worth of shares as of its latest SEC filing.
• Xcel Energy's recent earnings report showed an EPS of $0.75, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating a 14.85% net margin.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, with a yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 63.16%.

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 909,876 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 199,809 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.16% of Xcel Energy worth $64,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on XEL shares. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock traded down $0.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $72.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,480,821 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,426,718. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.46. The company has a market cap of $42.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $57.43 and a twelve month high of $74.57.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.31 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Xcel Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.16%.

Xcel Energy 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.