Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Holdings Trimmed by Bell Bank

Bell Bank reduced its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 62.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,845 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,999 shares during the quarter. Bell Bank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Xcel Energy by 9.0% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,262,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,788,448,000 after buying an additional 2,157,602 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,274,799,000 after acquiring an additional 1,746,066 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 29.0% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,366,422 shares of the company’s stock valued at $501,653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654,505 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2,324.9% in the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,716,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645,571 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 100.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,519,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,548,000 after purchasing an additional 1,261,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on XEL. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “moderate buy” rating for the company. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 27th. BTIG Research upgraded Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.29.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.1%

XEL stock opened at $74.68 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.46. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $83.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $74.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 69.51%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.