Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Decreases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 3.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,446,340 shares of the company's stock after selling 51,490 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Xcel Energy worth $94,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company's stock worth $405,955,000 after buying an additional 6,684,499 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company's stock worth $127,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,025 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,823 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 932,505 shares of the company's stock valued at $50,122,000 after purchasing an additional 882,505 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 research note on Friday, November 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $69.37. 1,216,346 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,209,500. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $64.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $39.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $69.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business's revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.