Natixis Purchases 17,800 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Natixis grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 92.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,112 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,800 shares during the quarter. Natixis’ holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,527,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Empirical Finance LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 19,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 8,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 16,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LCM Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 3,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.5%

NASDAQ XEL opened at $74.62 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.58 and a 12 month high of $83.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The stock has a market cap of $44.14 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $80.23 and its 200 day moving average is $74.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.25 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on XEL. Mizuho boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 27th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $87.14.

Xcel Energy 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.