Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC lowered its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,578 shares of the company’s stock after selling 224 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,840,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104,405 shares during the period. Merewether Investment Management LP purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after purchasing an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,797,000 after buying an additional 777,696 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.8 %

XEL stock opened at $66.60 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

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.