Metis Global Partners LLC Has $2.60 Million Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Metis Global Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,828 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,450 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company’s stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 55.7% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 2,277 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 68.9% in the 1st quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 162,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,751,000 after acquiring an additional 66,389 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 325.9% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares during the period. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 109.3% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 47,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,558,000 after purchasing an additional 24,850 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective 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. Argus upgraded 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. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $69.46 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $69.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal 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.