HM Payson & Co. Cuts Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HM Payson & Co. lowered its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,785 shares of the company’s stock after selling 539 shares during the quarter. HM Payson & Co.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Integris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after buying an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,591 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 22,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $66.69 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $68.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market cap of $37.18 billion, a PE ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.39. The company’s 50 day moving average is $63.61 and its 200 day moving average is $58.25.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The firm’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

About Xcel Energy

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.