Cerity Partners LLC Has $23.38 Million Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Cerity Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 289,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,915 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $23,380,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,438,000 after acquiring an additional 9,355 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2,324.9% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,716,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,884,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645,571 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at $9,196,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.3% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,211,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,042,000 after purchasing an additional 299,484 shares during the period. Finally, VCI Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at about $1,176,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.2%

Xcel Energy stock opened at $74.26 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $43.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.46. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $83.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.23 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.21.

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

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Cowen initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $86.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.21.

About Xcel Energy

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.