National Pension Service Boosts Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

National Pension Service increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,371,098 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,655 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.25% of Xcel Energy worth $89,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,955,000 after purchasing an additional 6,684,499 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 120.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,095,000 after buying an additional 1,299,025 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,179,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 882,505 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $66.33 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $68.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.49. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XEL. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Seven investment 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.38.

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.