Meeder Asset Management Inc. Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 85,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,910,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in XEL. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.4% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,144,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,344,295,000 after buying an additional 126,790 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 26,262,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,788,448,000 after acquiring an additional 2,157,602 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 18,719,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,799,000 after acquiring an additional 1,746,066 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,191,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,108,006,000 after purchasing an additional 460,103 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Xcel Energy by 29.0% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,366,422 shares of the company’s stock worth $501,653,000 after purchasing an additional 1,654,505 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $74.26 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.46. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.58 and a 1 year high of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $77.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.31.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.89 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 EPS. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Mizuho set a $86.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday. BTIG Research raised Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. KeyCorp reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.21.

Xcel Energy Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.