Nordea Investment Management AB Trims Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,991,639 shares of the company’s stock after selling 219,442 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned 0.51% of Xcel Energy worth $240,528,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. ORG Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 168.4% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 202.2% in the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 98.8% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $74.94 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.21 and a fifty-two week high of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a market cap of $44.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $76.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on XEL. Cowen began coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Mizuho set a $86.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus 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.