Empower Advisory Group LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 145,015 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,328 shares during the quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $9,469,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,955,000 after purchasing an additional 6,684,499 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,283,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 120.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,095,000 after buying an additional 1,299,025 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 130.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,325,000 after buying an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. Finally, Zimmer Partners LP increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1,765.0% in the 1st quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 932,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,122,000 after buying an additional 882,505 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.1 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.65 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $69.35. 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 business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.94. The firm has a market cap of $39.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Company 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.