National Pension Service Raises Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 3.1%, owning approximately 0.11% of the company worth $45 million after buying an additional 19,396 shares.
• Xcel Energy recently reported quarterly earnings of $0.75 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, while its revenue for the quarter reached $3.29 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, reflecting a 3.1% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 63.16%.

National Pension Service boosted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 637,056 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 19,396 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.11% of Xcel Energy worth $45,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 197,047 shares of the company's stock worth $13,920,000 after acquiring an additional 17,263 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 205.4% during the 1st quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 61,838 shares of the company's stock worth $4,378,000 after acquiring an additional 41,592 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 103,240 shares of the company's stock worth $7,308,000 after acquiring an additional 12,636 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 10,622 shares of the company's stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares during the period. Finally, SouthState Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 4,589 shares of the company's stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.6%

NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 7,792,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,455,766. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.60. The stock has a market cap of $42.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.34. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $59.04 and a 52 week high of $74.57. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.54 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Company 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.