AMG National Trust Bank Lowers Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

AMG National Trust Bank lowered its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 201 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $324,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Hodges Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 447.1% during the fourth quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,470,000 after acquiring an additional 42,001 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after acquiring an additional 12,477 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $278,000. ING Groep NV grew its position in Xcel Energy by 85.0% during the third quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 231,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,116,000 after acquiring an additional 106,326 shares during the period. Finally, GEN Financial Management INC. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $68.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $49.89 and a one year high of $73.38. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.45. The stock has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth 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%. As a group, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 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.