Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $6.10 Million Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 75,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,096,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,138,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Keel Point LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,485 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $600,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $76.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.39. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $79.35 and a 200 day moving average of $79.70. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.29 and a 12 month high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.14. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $92.41.

About Xcel Energy

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.