Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Stock Sold by Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC

Key Points

• Allspring Global Investments cut its Xcel Energy stake by 57.1% in the third quarter, selling 328,675 shares and retaining 246,684 shares valued at about $17.4 million.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Xcel has a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $90.71; 78.38% of its shares are held by institutional investors.
• Xcel reported quarterly earnings of $1.52 per share, beating estimates of $1.39, while revenue of $4.17 billion came in below forecasts; revenue rose 6.6% year over year.

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC cut its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 57.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 246,684 shares of the company's stock after selling 328,675 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $17,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,890,136,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,896,012 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,145,176,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770,356 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,933,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,403,680,000 after purchasing an additional 491,937 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $891,688,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,210,086 shares of the company's stock valued at $649,128,000 after purchasing an additional 171,514 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on XEL. BTIG Research set a $92.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, October 30th. Mizuho set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $90.71.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $81.61 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.72 and a 52-week high of $84.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $4.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.26 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 17.94% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc. is a regulated electric and natural gas utility headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Through its operating companies, it generates, purchases, transmits and distributes electricity, and delivers natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers. The company serves customers in eight states: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Its electric system includes a mix of generation resources, supported by transmission and distribution networks.

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