MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.2% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 144,938 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,276 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $9,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after buying an additional 8,790 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 165.0% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,770,000 after purchasing an additional 66,840 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 21.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 61,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,851 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 22,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after buying an additional 8,656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,103,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,954,000 after buying an additional 502,231 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $72.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $73.38. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.62.

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.