Nuveen LLC Makes New $155.51 Million Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a significant investment of approximately $155.51 million in Xcel Energy by purchasing over 2 million shares, equating to a 0.38% stake in the company.
• Research firms have offered varied ratings on Xcel Energy, with Mizuho increasing its price target to $78.00 while Morgan Stanley lowered its target to $77.00, suggesting a mixed outlook from analysts.
• Xcel Energy recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.1% for shareholders, with payment scheduled for October 20th.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,196,779 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $155,510,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.38% of Xcel Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,818,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,296,377,000 after purchasing an additional 986,170 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.9% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,811,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,473,228,000 after acquiring 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% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,711,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $404,347,000 after acquiring an additional 33,469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,639,107 shares of the company's stock valued at $380,753,000 after acquiring an additional 561,478 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on XEL. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.53 on Wednesday, hitting $72.92. 3,226,986 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,482,315. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $58.40 and a 52 week high of $74.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.78 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.51. The company has a market cap of $43.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

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