Lazard Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Lazard Asset Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 63.6% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 70,454 shares of the company’s stock after selling 122,915 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $5,597,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 73.8% in the fourth 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. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in 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.

Key Xcel Energy News

Here are the key news stories impacting Xcel Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Xcel reported second-quarter GAAP and ongoing earnings of $0.93 per share, well above the $0.79 analyst consensus. Net income rose to $586 million from $444 million a year earlier. Higher infrastructure investment recovery and lower power costs helped drive the improvement. Xcel Energy Second Quarter 2026 Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925 per share, equivalent to an annualized payout of approximately $2.37 and a yield near 3%. The dividend supports Xcel’s appeal to income-focused investors.
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s earnings-call discussion highlighted continued infrastructure investment and associated regulatory recovery, potentially supporting longer-term rate-base growth. Xcel Energy Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Xcel elected Peter Carter, Delta Air Lines’ president, to its board. The appointment adds an executive with experience in strategy, policy and sustainability, but is unlikely to materially affect near-term earnings. Xcel Energy Elects Peter Carter to Board of Directors
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue totaled $3.12 billion, below the $3.54 billion consensus estimate and down 5.1% year over year. The revenue miss may be weighing on the stock despite the EPS beat, particularly because utility investors focus on the durability of underlying growth. Xcel Q2 Earnings Beat Estimates on Infrastructure Investment Recovery

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $92.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.65.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $78.23 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a market cap of $48.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $79.45. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.16 and a 12-month high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.55 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.59 EPS. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 68.30%.

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.