GQG Partners LLC Takes $891.69 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,104,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $891,688,000. Xcel Energy comprises about 1.7% of GQG Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. GQG Partners LLC owned about 1.78% of Xcel Energy at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $76.30 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.29 and a 52 week high of $84.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $79.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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 1.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

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. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%.The company’s revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. Mizuho set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Monday, June 8th. New Street Research set a $91.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.