Fmr LLC Sells 510,783 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Fmr LLC decreased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 14.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,026,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 510,783 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $197,637,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp boosted their target price 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 shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.62.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $71.20 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $66.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.41. The stock has a market cap of $40.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.