Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Announces Dividend Increase – $0.59 Per Share

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of 0.5925 per share on Monday, April 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a 3.9% increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57.

Xcel Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. Xcel Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 55.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $4.14 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.28 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.1%.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.04 on Thursday, reaching $83.59. 1,022,803 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,184,412. The company has a market capitalization of $49.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.83% and a net margin of 13.76%.The business’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.