Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $199.06 Million Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,468,141 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,611 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $199,055,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,912 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 40,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,242,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.9% during the third quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 11,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $911,000 after buying an additional 429 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth approximately $352,000. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 651,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,532,000 after purchasing an additional 7,996 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $75.68 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $75.75 and its 200 day moving average is $76.10. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $44.77 billion, a PE ratio of 23.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.51%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.40.

Xcel Energy Company 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.