Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Shares Bought by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio dramatically increased its Xcel Energy stake in the first quarter, lifting holdings by 2,044% to 303,956 shares valued at about $24.1 million.
• Xcel Energy reported Q1 EPS of $0.91, matching analyst expectations, while revenue came in at $4.02 billion versus the $4.21 billion estimate; the company also raised revenue 2.9% year over year.
• The utility declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share payable July 20, and analysts remain generally positive with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $91.29.

Strs Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 2,044.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 303,956 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 289,779 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $24,146,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the company's stock worth $2,138,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,184 shares of the company's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,485 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.8% during the third quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 3,185 shares of the company's stock valued at $257,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $81.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.63. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $66.56 and a 52-week high of $84.23.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is currently 68.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $98.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Thursday, May 14th. New Street Research set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $91.29.

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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