Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Lowers Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,181 shares of the company’s stock after selling 412 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.7% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 520,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,973,000 after buying an additional 50,128 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 18.2% during the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 24,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,806 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 6,684,499 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth $35,623,000. Finally, BTG Pactual Global Asset Management Ltd bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,350,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $71.35 on Friday. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.78. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $71.79. The company has a market capitalization of $40.97 billion, a PE ratio of 21.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.31.

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.