National Pension Service Boosts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

National Pension Service boosted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,371,098 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,655 shares during the period. National Pension Service’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $89,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,684,499 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,025 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 932,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,122,000 after purchasing an additional 882,505 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $66.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.98 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $63.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.49. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $68.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.