Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY Purchases 21,846 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 24.7%, buying 21,846 shares to hold 110,252 shares worth $8.143 million, and institutional investors now own 78.38% of XEL.
• Wall Street consensus is a Buy with an average price target of $88.44 (several firms set targets of $90–$95); analyst breakdown: 3 Strong Buy, 13 Buy, 1 Sell.
• Xcel raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5925 (annualized $2.37, yield 2.9%); Q4 EPS matched estimates at $0.96 and revenue was up 14.1% year‑over‑year but slightly below analyst revenue expectations.

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,252 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 21,846 shares during the quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $8,143,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Krilogy Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. Krilogy Financial LLC now owns 4,849 shares of the company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 968 shares during the period. VCI Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. VCI Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,447,000 after purchasing an additional 5,011 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 4,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 706 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 19,517 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,442,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $873,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. BTIG Research set a $94.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Argus set a $86.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $88.44.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $81.08 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The business's 50 day moving average is $80.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.78. The company has a market cap of $50.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 13.76%.The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.81 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

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

Xcel Energy 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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