Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 22,726 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,512,582 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,726 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.44% of Xcel Energy worth $164,072,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $35,000. Rothschild Investment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Andra AP fonden acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at $43,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.17.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.75 on Friday, reaching $67.40. The company had a trading volume of 13,060,697 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,148,796. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The stock's 50 day moving average is $67.73 and its 200-day moving average is $61.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $38.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) 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 company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. 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 3.25%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 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.