Morgan Stanley reduced its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Free Report) by 9.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,370,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 529,959 shares during the quarter. Morgan Stanley’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $307,322,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. McCarthy Grittinger Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Country Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Country Trust Bank now owns 535 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. 77.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of research firms recently commented on XEL. Barclays upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $63.83.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on XEL
Xcel Energy Stock Performance
Xcel Energy stock opened at $51.90 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market cap of $28.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $71.96. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $58.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.03.
Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.57 EPS for the current year.
Xcel Energy Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 64.80%.
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.
See Also
Want to see what other hedge funds are holding XEL? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Free Report).
Receive News & Ratings for Xcel Energy Daily – Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts’ ratings for Xcel Energy and related companies with MarketBeat.com’s FREE daily email newsletter.
Source: defenseworld.net
