Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) was the target of a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 25,245,915 shares, a drop of 22.1% from the December 15th total of 32,389,484 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,808,550 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Currently, 4.3% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,808,550 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,725,720 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,187,929,000 after acquiring an additional 2,001,018 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,896,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,914,984,000 after purchasing an additional 1,752,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,851,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,326,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589,406 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 21,026,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,695,748,000 after purchasing an additional 831,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,526,873 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,574,842,000 after purchasing an additional 807,353 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on XEL shares. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $87.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock traded up $0.25 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.61. 7,378,081 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,881,221. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $83.01. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.51. The company has a market cap of $44.73 billion, a PE ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.46.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.25 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Investors of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.51%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.