Czech National Bank Acquires 10,939 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Czech National Bank grew its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,507 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,939 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $8,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,404,000 after acquiring an additional 12,477 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 85.0% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 106,326 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 64.4% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,805,000 after purchasing an additional 10,821 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 393.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 317,117 shares of the company's stock worth $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 252,793 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Copley Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $532,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL traded up $0.86 on Wednesday, hitting $64.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,655,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,725,365. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $68.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $63.38. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The firm has a market cap of $37.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Xcel Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on XEL. UBS Group boosted 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Company 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.