Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Decreases Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 64.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,658 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,809 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,179,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,985,136,000 after acquiring an additional 953,002 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% in 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. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted 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 worth $1,189,246,000 after buying an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company's stock worth $1,029,223,000 after buying an additional 616,853 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays raised their target price 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 cut shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued 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 target price of $75.80.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.0%

Xcel Energy stock traded up $0.63 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.28. 2,917,067 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,577,737. 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 Inc. has a twelve month low of $51.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average of $69.68 and a 200-day moving average of $68.73.

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

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Xcel Energy 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.