HighTower Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 22.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,863 shares of the company's stock after selling 22,863 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $5,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company's stock valued at $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company's stock valued at $223,170,000 after acquiring an additional 67,820 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 120.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company's stock worth $127,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,025 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,854,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,046,000 after purchasing an additional 174,653 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. UBS Group lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $68.36. The company had a trading volume of 3,012,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,105,694. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.41. 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 business's 50-day simple moving average is $67.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.14.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Xcel Energy's revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current 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.