Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Shares Purchased by Energy Income Partners LLC

Key Points

• Energy Income Partners increased its Xcel Energy stake by 66.4% in the first quarter, purchasing 399,383 additional shares to hold 1,000,644 shares valued at approximately $79.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 78.38% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with Xcel receiving an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $92.65. Recent target increases from UBS and Barclays offset Mizuho’s reduction from $94 to $91.
• Xcel reported quarterly EPS of $0.91, matching estimates, while revenue rose 2.9% year over year to $4.02 billion. The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.5925, equivalent to an annualized $2.37 and a 2.9% yield.

Energy Income Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 66.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,000,644 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 399,383 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy makes up 1.3% of Energy Income Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Energy Income Partners LLC owned 0.16% of Xcel Energy worth $79,491,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Socorro Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Socorro Asset Management LP now owns 105,154 shares of the company's stock worth $8,353,000 after buying an additional 7,953 shares in the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,549 shares of the company's stock valued at $600,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 23.6% during the first quarter. Infrastructure Capital Advisors LLC now owns 25,438 shares of the company's stock worth $2,021,000 after acquiring an additional 4,862 shares during the last quarter. Excelsior Advisor Network LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth about $474,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 423,810 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,668,000 after purchasing an additional 79,913 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, June 8th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $92.65.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $80.71 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.16 and a 52-week high of $84.23. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $79.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $79.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.39.

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 business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 14.14%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is 68.30%.

About Xcel Energy

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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