Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Position Decreased by Sabal Trust CO

Sabal Trust CO cut its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,283 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,462 shares during the period. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $222,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $991,956,000 after acquiring an additional 892,740 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $952,091,000 after acquiring an additional 262,191 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,777,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,023,000 after acquiring an additional 11,529 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,417,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $223,170,000 after acquiring an additional 67,820 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on XEL. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $69.97 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $67.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.94. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 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 stock has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.26%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.66%.

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.