Amundi Lowers Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Amundi reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 40.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 934,229 shares of the company’s stock after selling 621,959 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.16% of Xcel Energy worth $63,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 25,809,978 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,827,090,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109,190 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth $155,510,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,719,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,274,799,000 after buying an additional 1,746,066 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 29.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,366,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,653,000 after buying an additional 1,654,505 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 5,894.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 998,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,998,000 after acquiring an additional 981,849 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $75.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $74.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.79. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $83.01.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on XEL. Cowen began coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, BTIG Research raised Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.14.

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.