Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $16.67 Million Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. by 7.7%, now holding 235,418 shares valued at $16.67 million.
• Xcel Energy reported earnings per share (EPS) of $0.75, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a quarterly revenue of $3.29 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share with a dividend yield of 3.1%, indicating a payout ratio of 63.16%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 7.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,418 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,732 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $16,665,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,818,158 shares of the company's stock worth $5,296,377,000 after acquiring an additional 986,170 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 25,809,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,827,090,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109,190 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,811,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,473,228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,520,092 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Xcel Energy by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,967,952 shares of the company's stock worth $422,471,000 after purchasing an additional 328,845 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.80.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $72.39. The company had a trading volume of 3,003,393 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,622,319. The firm has a market cap of $42.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.66 and a fifty-two week high of $74.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $71.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.98.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%.The business's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. Analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.