Geode Capital Management LLC Purchases 262,191 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,562,103 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 262,191 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.54% of Xcel Energy worth $952,091,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. American National Bank bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.13 on Thursday, hitting $68.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,574,740 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,100,686. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.41. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.10 and a 200 day moving average of $61.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on XEL. Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $68.62.

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.