Victory Capital Management Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 27.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,488,784 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,098,779 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.98% of Xcel Energy worth $358,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% during 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 period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the second 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 130.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company's stock worth $111,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 882,505 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.61. The company had a trading volume of 5,336,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,223,396. The company has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $69.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.83.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm's revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share 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.