Metis Global Partners LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Metis Global Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 32,143 shares of the company’s stock after selling 701 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Xcel Energy by 37.1% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 313,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,914,000 after acquiring an additional 84,670 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 131,502 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,525,000 after purchasing an additional 6,194 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.6% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 2,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,000 after purchasing an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 172,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,876,000 after purchasing an additional 8,242 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 166.9% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 162,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,065,000 after buying an additional 101,521 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $55.02 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $53.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $69.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.548 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on XEL. TheStreet downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Wolfe Research raised Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, March 11th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $62.83.

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.