PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Buys 4,770 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 229,703 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,770 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $16,261,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,678,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $383,409,000 after purchasing an additional 504,143 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,639,107 shares of the company's stock worth $380,753,000 after acquiring an additional 561,478 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock worth $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $74.24 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $57.24 and a 52 week high of $74.45. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $43.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.34.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

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.

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