Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Stock Purchased by Perpetual Ltd

Key Points

• Perpetual Ltd increased its Xcel Energy stake by 53.2% in the third quarter, buying 365,941 additional shares to hold 1.05 million shares worth approximately $74.3 million.
• Xcel Energy reported quarterly EPS of $0.93, exceeding the $0.79 consensus estimate, although revenue fell 5.1% year over year to $3.12 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925, equivalent to an annualized $2.37 payout and a 3.2% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating with an average price target of $91.65.

Perpetual Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 53.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,054,254 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 365,941 shares during the period. Xcel Energy accounts for about 1.2% of Perpetual Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Perpetual Ltd owned 0.17% of Xcel Energy worth $74,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. GK Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Wedmont Private Capital increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 9,806 shares of the company's stock worth $719,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares during the last quarter. First Heartland Consultants Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $408,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.5% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 26,017 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,834,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 3,102 shares of the company's stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,339 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $74.17 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market capitalization of $46.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.32, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.36. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $74.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.04. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.72 and a 12-month high of $84.23.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 64.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Mizuho set a $92.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $83.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, New Street Research set a $91.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $91.65.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based energy company that provides electricity and natural gas through regulated utility operations. Its businesses generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity, as well as distribute natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Through its operating companies, Xcel Energy serves customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. The company's operations include a diverse generation portfolio featuring wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other energy resources.

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