Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 22,726 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,512,582 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,726 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $164,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Graypoint LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $203,000. JNBA Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 63.4% during the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 4,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $262,000 after buying an additional 1,558 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $202,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.38.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $66.20 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $68.36. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.55. The company has a market cap of $38.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.64, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.38. 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) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current 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.