Viking Fund Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

by · The Cerbat Gem

Viking Fund Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Free Report) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Xcel Energy makes up approximately 1.7% of Viking Fund Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,803,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $64,301,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,265.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 839,146 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,797,000 after acquiring an additional 777,696 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.4 %

XEL opened at $67.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.86. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Free Report) 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 $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.99%.

Xcel Energy Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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