Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Accredited Investors Inc.

Accredited Investors Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 376 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,360,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in XEL. Czech National Bank increased its position in Xcel Energy by 9.1% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after buying an additional 8,790 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 66,840 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 61,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,851 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 22,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 8,656 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Xcel Energy by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,103,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,954,000 after purchasing an additional 502,231 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus upgraded 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 raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $69.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $64.76 and its 200-day moving average is $59.21. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $69.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.38.

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

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.