Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Has $2.30 Million Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• Gulf International Bank UK Ltd has reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. by 24.4%, selling 10,530 shares and holding 32,553 shares valued at approximately $2.3 million.
• Analysts have set a moderate buy average rating for Xcel Energy, with a price target of around $76 after reports noted various target increases from firms like Mizuho and Wells Fargo.
• Xcel Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57, yielding approximately 3.1%, with a payout ratio of 63.16%.

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 24.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,553 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,530 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,818,158 shares of the company's stock worth $5,296,377,000 after buying an additional 986,170 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of 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. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,401,901,000 after buying an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,711,917 shares of the company's stock worth $404,347,000 after buying an additional 33,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,639,107 shares of the company's stock worth $380,753,000 after buying an additional 561,478 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Wall Street Zen cut Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $71.93. The company had a trading volume of 7,792,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,455,766. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.04 and a 12 month high of $74.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $42.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.60.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.