Palisade Asset Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Palisade Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 87,246 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $5,697,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings 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 in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,025 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,325,000 after buying an additional 1,179,823 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% during the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 932,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,122,000 after buying an additional 882,505 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $71.35 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $71.79. The firm has a market cap of $40.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on XEL. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.31.

About Xcel Energy

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.