First Bank & Trust Sells 781 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First Bank & Trust reduced its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 60,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 781 shares during the quarter. Xcel Energy makes up about 0.8% of First Bank & Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $4,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.07 on Thursday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.52. The company has a market cap of $39.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.66%.

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.