Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. by 9.1%, selling 287,437 shares and owning about 0.50% of the company worth approximately $203.5 million.
• Xcel Energy's stock has been subject to several recent analyst ratings, with the average target price set at $76.00 and a general rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%.

American Century Companies Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,874,236 shares of the company's stock after selling 287,437 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.50% of Xcel Energy worth $203,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Accent Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $34,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $50,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $53,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.6%

XEL opened at $71.93 on Friday. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $69.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.04 and a twelve month high of $74.57. The firm has a market cap of $42.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.93, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.34.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 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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