Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 98,866 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,085,941 shares of the company's stock after selling 98,866 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 0.36% of Xcel Energy worth $140,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the fourth 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 during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted 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 worth $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,194 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after buying an additional 2,422,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,538,564 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,626,043. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.02, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $69.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.81. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.