Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Stake Reduced by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp cut its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 71.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 49,148 shares of the company’s stock after selling 124,650 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,056,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 114.5% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 274.1% during the second quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 58.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 641 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 77.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 9th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 30th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $60.76. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 659,379 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,505,467. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $58.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $61.41. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $53.73 and a 1-year high of $72.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.98 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.82%.

Xcel Energy Profile

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, purchases, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, oil, wood/refuse, and wind energy sources.