Magellan Asset Management Ltd Cuts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 3,283,343 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,304,875 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy makes up 1.8% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $204,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth about $27,000. ZRC Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 114.5% in the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 274.1% during the 2nd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 621 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 58.3% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 641 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.83% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.06 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $60.00. 1,184,813 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,526,078. The company has a market capitalization of $33.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $53.73 and a 12-month high of $72.99. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $61.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44.

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

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.82%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $60.00 to $57.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 9th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $58.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Friday, October 6th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, November 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $58.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.08.

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.