Central Bank & Trust Co. Sells 2,785 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Central Bank & Trust Co. lowered its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,833 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,785 shares during the quarter. Central Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 10.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,854,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,046,000 after purchasing an additional 174,653 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 48.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 15,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 5,081 shares during the last quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 24.1% during the 2nd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 4,178 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 18.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 908,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,517,000 after acquiring an additional 144,325 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in Xcel Energy by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 662,942 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,408,000 after acquiring an additional 116,477 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $66.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $68.41 and a 200-day moving average of $63.66. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 64.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Four 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.67.

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.