ING Groep NV Lowers Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

ING Groep NV cut its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 91.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,872 shares of the company’s stock after selling 210,610 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of XEL stock opened at $69.94 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $40.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $67.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.73.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.66%.

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.