Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Boosts Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,899 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,231 shares during the quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,790 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 165.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,770,000 after buying an additional 66,840 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 622,975 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,485,000 after buying an additional 25,119 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 21.6% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 61,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 10,851 shares during the period. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 60.3% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 22,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 8,656 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $68.65 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $39.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $69.35. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.94.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.