Fulton Bank N.A. Has $2.38 Million Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Fulton Bank N.A. lessened its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,180 shares of the company’s stock after selling 535 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.17.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $65.86. 790,138 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,678,289. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.99. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $37.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 64.99%.

Xcel Energy 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.