Martingale Asset Management L P Raises Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.3%, now owning 136,343 shares valued at approximately $9.65 million.
• A majority of analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Xcel Energy, with an average price target of $76.00 after recent upgrades and downgrades from different brokerages.
• Xcel Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 to be paid on October 20th, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 63.16%.

Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 136,343 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 5,669 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $9,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,818,158 shares of the company's stock worth $5,296,377,000 after buying an additional 986,170 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,811,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,473,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,092 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,967,952 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,471,000 after acquiring an additional 328,845 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,711,917 shares of the company's stock valued at $404,347,000 after acquiring an additional 33,469 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $73.03. 2,250,131 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,648,756. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $60.53 and a 12-month high of $74.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $43.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.34. The business's fifty day moving average price is $70.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.82.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.