Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Has $31.59 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 808.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 393,348 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 350,055 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Xcel Energy worth $31,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. First Bancorp Inc ME acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth about $36,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $39,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.7%

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $77.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $79.27 and a 200-day moving average of $79.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.29 and a 52 week high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid 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 is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 64.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial reduced their price objective 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. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $99.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.