Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can cut its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 929,569 shares of the company’s stock after selling 224,007 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.16% of Xcel Energy worth $60,022,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.4% during the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 28,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,539,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $994,000. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 64,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,458,000 after acquiring an additional 6,310 shares in the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 180,036 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,677,000 after acquiring an additional 31,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 165.0% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,770,000 after acquiring an additional 66,840 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.62.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $72.92 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.88 and a 200-day moving average of $60.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $41.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Equities analysts predict 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.