Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Stock: Perpetual Ltd Boosts Stake

Perpetual Ltd grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 53.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,054,254 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 365,941 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy makes up 1.2% of Perpetual Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $74,304,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,890,136,000. GQG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $891,688,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $708,086,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $503,543,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $433,927,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on XEL. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 26th. Three research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.65.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $74.17 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $74.97 and a 200-day moving average of $78.04. The company has a market cap of $46.33 billion, a PE ratio of 20.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $68.72 and a one year high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis 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 64.93%.

About Xcel Energy

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.