Decade Renewable Partners LP Takes $3.08 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Decade Renewable Partners LP acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 57,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,082,000. Xcel Energy comprises about 1.5% of Decade Renewable Partners LP's portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $405,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,684,499 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,186,101 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,264,000 after purchasing an additional 74,690 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company's stock worth $127,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,025 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company's stock worth $111,325,000 after buying an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,854,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,046,000 after buying an additional 174,653 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on XEL. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Argus raised 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.14.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.98. The stock had a trading volume of 2,031,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,264,793. The firm has a market cap of $35.55 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $60.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.20. 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 fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $64.95.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.