Magellan Asset Management Ltd Acquires 205,250 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Magellan Asset Management Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 9.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,316,759 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 205,250 shares during the period. Xcel Energy comprises approximately 2.4% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $184,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abound Wealth Management increased its position in Xcel Energy by 394.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 365.3% during the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Mizuho reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.76.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $78.72 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.16 and a twelve month high of $84.23. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $79.15. The company has a market capitalization of $49.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 68.30%.

Xcel Energy 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.