Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $63.38 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 14.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,186,585 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 149,200 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.21% of Xcel Energy worth $63,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Epiq Partners LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,563,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 12,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $645,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 7.5% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 3,820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,000 after buying an additional 266 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $63.79.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $64.13 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $64.95. The stock has a market cap of $35.63 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 65.77%.

Xcel Energy Profile

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.