Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Holdings Cut by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp trimmed its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 60.8% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 17,374 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,918 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 365.3% in the 1st quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $80.19 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.77. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.16 and a 52-week high of $84.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.20. The stock has a market cap of $50.06 billion, a PE ratio of 23.11, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.39.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, June 26th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, June 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.65.

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.