Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC Sells 42,814 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC lowered its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 69.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,513 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,814 shares during the period. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company's stock worth $4,985,136,000 after purchasing an additional 953,002 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,302,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Xcel Energy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,223,000 after acquiring an additional 616,853 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on XEL shares. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.80.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.4%

Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $68.74. 945,926 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,592,893. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $68.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.60. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.64 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.64 billion, a PE ratio of 20.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

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.