Rafferty Asset Management LLC Sells 6,677 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 232,052 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,677 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $18,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of XEL. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 3.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,367,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,551,000 after acquiring an additional 105,903 shares during the last quarter. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 27,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,184,000 after purchasing an additional 1,932 shares during the last quarter. Argent Trust Co boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 12,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,040,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 30.1% in the 3rd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 17,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,416,000 after purchasing an additional 4,057 shares during the period. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 12,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $83.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.77 and a 200-day moving average of $77.07. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $65.21 and a 1-year high of $84.23. 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 company has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.46.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.83%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 66.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $88.60.

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.