Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Van ECK Associates increased its Xcel Energy stake by 25% in the second quarter, adding 72,720 shares to own 364,155 shares valued at approximately $29.2 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 78.38% of the company.
• Xcel Energy reported quarterly EPS of $0.93, beating estimates of $0.79, although revenue fell 5.1% year over year to $3.12 billion, below expectations of $3.54 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, equating to a 3.1% annualized yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $92.41, above the reported share price of $76.45.

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 364,155 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 72,720 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.06% of Xcel Energy worth $29,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 365.3% in the 1st quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Pin Oak Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, First Bancorp Inc ME purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $76.45 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.25 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.77. The company has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.29 and a 1 year high of $84.23.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $92.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $92.41.

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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