SCP Investment LP Increases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• SCP Investment LP boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 291.7% in the fourth quarter, ending with 18,800 shares worth about $1.39 million.
• Institutional ownership remains heavy, with 78.38% of Xcel Energy’s stock held by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Several other funds also increased positions in recent quarters.
• Analysts remain largely positive on the utility, with Xcel Energy carrying a “Buy” consensus and an average price target of $90.63, while the stock recently traded at $77.87 and yields about 3.0%.

SCP Investment LP increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 291.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 18,800 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,000 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy makes up 1.1% of SCP Investment LP's portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. SCP Investment LP's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 30.7% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 48,515 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 14,029 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $694,000 after buying an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 16.0% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company's stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Argus set a $86.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.63.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.9%

XEL stock opened at $77.87 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.68. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $84.23. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $79.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.56. The firm has a market cap of $48.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.30%.

About Xcel Energy

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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