Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Bought by AQR Capital Management LLC

AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 54.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,642,484 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 579,652 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.30% of Xcel Energy worth $87,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 23.2% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,614,000 after purchasing an additional 121,118 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 419,106 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,947,000 after buying an additional 29,307 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,372,000 after buying an additional 38,653 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 24.8% in the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,427,000 after buying an additional 20,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 91.6% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 190,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,245,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $63.98 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $64.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.20.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.14.

Xcel Energy Company 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.