Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Wedge Capital Management L L P NC

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC lessened its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 182,919 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,797 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $12,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $991,956,000 after acquiring an additional 892,740 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company's stock worth $952,091,000 after purchasing an additional 262,191 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,170,000 after purchasing an additional 67,820 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brookfield Corp ON grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the 3rd quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company's stock worth $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,235,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,227,652. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $68.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.51. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS 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 company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Xcel Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business 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 3.28%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is 64.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on XEL. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.67.

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.