Xcel Energy Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• Unusually heavy bearish options activity: Traders purchased 31,176 put options on Xcel Energy, roughly 1,425% above the typical daily volume.
• Analysts remain broadly positive: Xcel has an average “Buy” rating and a consensus price target of $92.41, despite Morgan Stanley lowering its target to $89.
• Shares and fundamentals: Xcel traded at $74.55, while its latest quarterly earnings of $0.93 per share exceeded estimates. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, yielding approximately 3.2% annually.

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading on Monday. Traders bought 31,176 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 1,425% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,044 put options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Xcel Energy from $92.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $92.41.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $74.55. 2,998,575 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,168,641. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $71.35 and a 1 year high of $84.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $79.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,184 shares of the company's stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,549 shares of the company's stock worth $600,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based electric and natural gas utility holding company that serves customers across parts of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Through its operating companies, Xcel provides electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas distribution and related energy services.

The company operates a diversified generating fleet that includes wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other resources.

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