Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Shares Purchased by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 30.5% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 18,767 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,383 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. BankPlus Trust Department purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 861 shares of the company’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on XEL shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.80.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $72.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $42.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.16. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.12 and a 1-year high of $74.57.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%.The company’s revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.54 EPS. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 63.16%.

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.