Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Kettle Hill Capital opened a new position in Xcel Energy in Q3, buying 35,137 shares valued at about $2.83 million, according to the firm's latest 13F filing.
• Xcel has heavy institutional backing—about 78.38% institutional ownership—with Vanguard, State Street, Bank of America, JPMorgan and MFS all increasing stakes recently, signaling strong investor interest.
• Dividend increased: Xcel raised its quarterly payout to $0.5925 ($2.37 annualized) for a ~2.9% yield; the ex-dividend date is March 13 and the payment date is April 20.

Kettle Hill Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 35,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,834,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,725,720 shares of the company's stock worth $6,187,929,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001,018 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,144,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,344,295,000 after purchasing an additional 126,790 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,851,485 shares of the company's stock worth $2,326,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589,406 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 21,026,015 shares of the company's stock worth $1,695,748,000 after purchasing an additional 831,639 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,526,873 shares of the company's stock worth $1,574,842,000 after purchasing an additional 807,353 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $81.91 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $51.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.95, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.76. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company's revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. UBS Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $81.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, BTIG Research set a $94.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $88.44.

Xcel Energy News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a favorable view — XEL recently received an average "Buy" rating from analysts, which supports investor confidence. Xcel Energy Inc. NASDAQ: XEL Receives Average Rating of "Buy" from Analysts
• Positive Sentiment: Storm-response readiness highlighted — Xcel says crews are staged and ready to respond to outages from the winter storm, which reduces operational risk and limits potential outage duration. Workers ready to respond to outages during winter storm, Xcel Energy says
• Positive Sentiment: Planned logistics/maintenance underway — Xcel is moving equipment this weekend (with some traffic impacts), indicating proactive grid work to manage storm impacts. Xcel Energy moving equipment this weekend with impacts to traffic on I-25 near exit 243
• Neutral Sentiment: Safety outreach — Xcel and the American Red Cross published severe‑weather safety tips for customers; this is reputationally positive but not material to near‑term financials. Xcel Energy, American Red Cross offer tips to stay safe during severe weather
• Neutral Sentiment: Market performance context — commentary that XEL is outperforming the Nasdaq provides sentiment context but doesn't change fundamentals. Is Xcel Energy stock outperforming the Nasdaq?
• Negative Sentiment: Environmental/operational risk — Xcel confirmed mineral oil leaked into the Mississippi River near the Monticello nuclear plant. Even if described as a "small amount," the incident raises potential cleanup, regulatory and reputational costs. Xcel Energy confirms mineral oil leaked into Mississippi River near Monticello nuclear plant
• Negative Sentiment: Planned/preventive power shutoffs — Weather alerts indicate likely shutoffs that could affect tens of thousands of customers (reports cite ~43,000 at risk in Colorado), increasing short‑term customer disruption and outage-management costs. Xcel Energy: Power shutoff ‘likely’ Saturday in Boulder, Jefferson counties
• Negative Sentiment: Wider storm impacts in the Upper Midwest — Xcel warns of outages in Wisconsin and recent wind events left 20k+ Minnesota customers without power, signaling elevated storm-related operational costs across service territories. Xcel Energy warns of outages in Wisconsin amid forecasted snowstorm

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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