Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.52 on July 20th

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 24th, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a dividend of 0.52 per share on Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%.

Xcel Energy has increased its dividend by an average of 6.4% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 20 years. Xcel Energy has a payout ratio of 57.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $3.60 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.8%.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $64.29 on Friday. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $56.89 and a twelve month high of $77.66. The stock has a market cap of $35.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.76 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 11.34%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.70 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.37 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 17th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.50.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In related news, SVP Frank P. Prager sold 737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $47,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 29,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,907,100. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Timothy John O’connor sold 15,625 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.59, for a total transaction of $1,087,343.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $452,195.82. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Frank P. Prager sold 737 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total transaction of $47,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,340 shares in the company, valued at $1,907,100. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.06% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.9% during the first quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 3,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 3,131 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Vident Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Institutional investors own 77.15% of the company’s stock.

About Xcel Energy

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Xcel Energy, Inc operates as a holding company engaged in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity primarily in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico.