Fulton Bank N.A. Decreases Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Fulton Bank N.A. cut its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) by 31.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,461 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,553 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keel Point LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 2,931 shares of the company’s stock worth $220,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 19,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 8,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $534,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 3,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Credit Agricole S A boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 25,912 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,658,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. 77.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $66.88 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.69 and a 200 day moving average of $66.82. The company has a market capitalization of $36.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.41. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.89 and a 1-year high of $77.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.71.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 11.34%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be paid a $0.52 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.49. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, SVP Frank P. Prager sold 737 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.00, for a total value of $47,905.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,907,100. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on XEL. UBS Group raised their target price on Xcel Energy to $68.00 in a research note on Monday, November 21st. Credit Suisse Group downgraded Xcel Energy from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, November 21st. Mizuho cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $72.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $76.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $66.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

About Xcel Energy

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Xcel Energy, Inc operates as a holding company engaged in the generation, purchase, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through the following three segments: Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility and All Others. The Regulated Electric Utility segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity primarily in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Dakota, South Dakota, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico.