Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 8,360,000 shares, an increase of 24.6% from the June 15th total of 6,709,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 3,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $54.28 on Friday. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $65.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $54.28 and a 200-day moving average of $55.72. The firm has a market cap of $30.16 billion, a PE ratio of 16.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

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.