HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Buys 252,793 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 393.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 317,117 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 252,793 shares during the period. Xcel Energy comprises 2.4% of HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $20,708,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 8,790 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 165.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,344 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,770,000 after acquiring an additional 66,840 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 61,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,267,000 after purchasing an additional 10,851 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 60.3% in the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 22,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after buying an additional 8,656 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 83.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,103,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,954,000 after acquiring an additional 502,231 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.62.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.9 %

NASDAQ XEL opened at $71.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.41. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $66.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.41. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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.