Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. Decreases Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. lessened its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 216,855 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,300 shares during the period. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $11,582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted 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 in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $80,283,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,994,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,237,847,000 after purchasing an additional 1,472,435 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,140,853 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,630,000 after purchasing an additional 693,921 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com raised Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.45.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $60.12. 2,069,299 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,341,444. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $64.25. The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.99 and a 200-day moving average of $55.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.00% and a net margin of 13.46%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.77%.

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.