Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Sold by Sit Investment Associates Inc.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. trimmed its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 12.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 151,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,375 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $9,426,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth about $302,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 8.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,318,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,163,000 after acquiring an additional 104,140 shares during the period. Prudential PLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,385,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 12.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 33,591 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after acquiring an additional 3,836 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 8.8% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. 77.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 3.5 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $60.30 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.73 and a twelve month high of $72.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market cap of $33.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $58.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 27th. The company reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 11.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.35 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 15th were paid a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.82%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Friday, October 6th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Mizuho cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 24th. Barclays cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $65.00.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, purchases, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, oil, wood/refuse, and wind energy sources.