Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Purchased by Zions Bancorporation N.A.

Zions Bancorporation N.A. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 10.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,594 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,708 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy makes up about 0.6% of Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest holding. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $8,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

XEL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.30.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $68.86 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.58 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $68.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

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.