Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Acquires 9,465 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 163.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,241 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,465 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $68.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $49.89 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.28%.

About Xcel Energy

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.