EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New $49.26 Million Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 613,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,259,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Xcel Energy at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 365.3% during the 1st quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Advocate Investing Services LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth $39,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 3.1%

Shares of XEL opened at $76.30 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.70. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $71.29 and a one year high of $84.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $79.70. The company has a market capitalization of $47.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 64.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Truist Financial cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $92.41.

Xcel Energy Company 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.