Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its Xcel Energy stake by 16.9% to 345,671 shares (about 0.06% of the company), adding 49,859 shares in Q4 and valuing the position at roughly $25.56 million.
• Xcel Energy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5925 (annualized $2.37) for a 3.0% yield—up from $0.57—with a dividend payout ratio of 69.3%.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: XEL reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, has a consensus "Buy" rating with an average target of $90.12, and the stock trades near $79.48 with a market cap of about $49.6 billion.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 16.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 345,671 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 49,859 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned 0.06% of Xcel Energy worth $25,557,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $240,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 30.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,810 shares of the company's stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 48,515 shares of the company's stock worth $3,434,000 after buying an additional 14,029 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,193 shares of the company's stock valued at $694,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 16.0% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,000 after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $79.48 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $84.23. The company has a market cap of $49.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.24, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.43. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $80.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.78.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.96. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 69.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Truist Financial initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Argus set a $86.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho set a $86.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $90.12.

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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