Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 227,550 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,286,067 shares of the company's stock after selling 227,550 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.57% of Xcel Energy worth $222,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.17.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, reaching $65.64. The company had a trading volume of 3,017,798 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,162,419. The company's fifty day moving average is $68.55 and its 200-day moving average is $62.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42. 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 Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.99%.

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.