MUFG Securities EMEA plc Raises Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 114.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,274 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,954 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in Xcel Energy by 394.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen lowered Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 18th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $90.63.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 3.9%

Shares of XEL opened at $76.41 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $84.23. 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 company has a market capitalization of $47.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.02, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $79.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.56.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 14.14%.The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.30%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.