National Pension Service Raises Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Xcel Energy stake by 6.3% in the second quarter, holding 803,504 shares valued at approximately $64.5 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 78.38% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a broadly positive outlook, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $92.41; individual targets range from $89 to $102.
• Xcel Energy reported quarterly EPS of $0.93, beating estimates of $0.79, though revenue fell 5.1% year over year. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925, equivalent to a 3.1% annualized yield.

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 803,504 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 47,608 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.13% of Xcel Energy worth $64,521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $4,890,136,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 8,419.7% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 58,315,466 shares of the company's stock worth $4,682,732,000 after buying an additional 57,630,988 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,340,645 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,704,534,000 after buying an additional 444,092 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,933,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,403,680,000 after buying an additional 491,937 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 16.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,572,438 shares of the company's stock worth $1,814,920,000 after acquiring an additional 3,546,423 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. New Street Research set a $91.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $92.41.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.1%

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $75.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $78.22 and a 200-day moving average of $79.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.35 and a 52 week high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%.The firm's revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 64.93%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based electric and natural gas utility holding company that serves customers across parts of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Through its operating companies, Xcel provides electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas distribution and related energy services.

The company operates a diversified generating fleet that includes wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other resources.

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