Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Purchased by Empirical Finance LLC

Empirical Finance LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,802 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the quarter. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Business Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth about $214,000. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 241,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,753,000 after purchasing an additional 10,533 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,148 shares of the company’s stock worth $924,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 85.0% in the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,116,000 after purchasing an additional 106,326 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.6% in the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 14,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 511 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.46 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $69.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results 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%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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 report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.38.

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.