Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH decreased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 297,998 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,294 shares during the quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.05% of Xcel Energy worth $21,095,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth $34,000. Rossby Financial LCC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth $50,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Heritage Wealth Advisors raised its position in Xcel Energy by 160.0% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 1,040 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $75.80.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of XEL opened at $72.50 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.36 and a 52 week high of $73.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $68.96 and a 200-day moving average of $68.77.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.14%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

About Xcel Energy

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.