Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Increases Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC has significantly increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 55.2% during the third quarter, as indicated in its latest Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The advisory firm now owns a total of 835 shares, having purchased an additional 297 shares within the quarter. By the end of this period, the firm’s investment in Xcel Energy was valued at approximately $55,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently adjusted their positions in Xcel Energy. QRG Capital Management Inc. expanded its stake by 7.7%, acquiring an additional 3,054 shares, which brought their total to 42,862 shares worth $2,799,000. Similarly, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings by 2.1%, now owning 229,937 shares valued at $15,015,000 after purchasing an extra 4,661 shares. The National Pension Service boosted its position by 1.9% with an additional 25,655 shares, totaling 1,371,098 shares worth $89,533,000. Vestor Capital LLC raised its investment by 25.5%, now holding 2,222 shares valued at $145,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. increased its stake by 8.4% with 121,550 shares after buying 9,400 shares in the last quarter. Overall, institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own about 78.38% of Xcel Energy's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

As of Thursday, Xcel Energy's stock opened at $66.49. The stock has seen a one-year low of $46.79 and a one-year high of $68.36. Key financial ratios include a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93, and a quick ratio of 0.82. The 50-day simple moving average stands at $63.92 while the 200-day average is $58.55. Xcel Energy boasts a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 19.73 and a P/E to growth (P/E/G) ratio of 2.69, along with a beta of 0.38.

On October 31, Xcel Energy released its recent quarterly earnings report. The company reported earnings of $1.25 per share, slightly missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.01. Revenue for the quarter was noted at $3.64 billion, which again fell short of the expected $3.93 billion. The net profit margin was 13.67%, with a return on equity of 10.76%, although this represented a slight decline of 0.5% in revenue compared to the same quarter last year.

Analyst Ratings on Xcel Energy

Multiple research reports have discussed Xcel Energy’s stock. Notably, Barclays recently raised their price target from $57.00 to $67.00, assigning an “overweight” rating. Moreover, Argus elevated their rating from “hold” to “buy” with a target price of $68.00. Wells Fargo also raised their target to $66.00 with an “equal weight” rating, while Morgan Stanley increased their projection from $68.00 to $73.00. KeyCorp augmented their target from $69.00 to $74.00. Currently, seven analysts rate the stock as a hold, while another seven suggest a buy, leading to an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.38.

Understanding Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc. operates through its subsidiaries in electricity generation, transmission, distribution, and sales. The company is involved in generating power using various sources such as wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, solar, coal, natural gas, and oil.

Catalyst, Investment, Xcel, Energy