Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) To Go Ex-Dividend on June 13th

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 21st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a dividend of 0.57 per share on Sunday, July 20th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th.

Xcel Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 55.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $4.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.1%.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $68.96 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $69.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.90. The stock has a market cap of $39.77 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.88 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $240,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,810 shares of the company’s stock valued at $978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 48,515 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 14,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $75.90.

About Xcel Energy

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.