ING Groep NV Has $1.41 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

ING Groep NV decreased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 91.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 210,610 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 10,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $735,000 after purchasing an additional 959 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 118,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,011,000 after purchasing an additional 71,798 shares during the period. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 7,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 283 shares during the period. Finally, Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.8% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 17,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,190,000 after purchasing an additional 1,117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on XEL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $69.94 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $67.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.73. The firm has a market cap of $40.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.66%.

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.