Citigroup Inc. Sells 328,275 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 28.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 833,007 shares of the company’s stock after selling 328,275 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $54,395,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. American National Bank bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $71.35 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $71.79. The company has a market cap of $40.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for 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 firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.31.

Xcel Energy Company 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.