BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S Lowers Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S trimmed its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 44.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,901 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,505 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Abound Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 394.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 73.8% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $90.63.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $77.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $65.21 and a 52 week high of $84.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $79.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.45.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.91. The business had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 14.14%.The company’s revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.30%.

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.