Van ECK Associates Corp Has $10.28 Million Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 159,783 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,934 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at $32,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth about $35,000. Rothschild Investment LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at about $43,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. UBS Group upped their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded down $0.19 on Thursday, hitting $66.30. 1,697,568 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,202,658. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.55. 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 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $68.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.38.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Xcel Energy

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.