Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL Shares Sold by Zions Bancorporation National Association UT

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 21.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,031 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,899 shares during the quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $6,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 12,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Intrust Bank NA boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 11,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of XEL stock opened at $78.10 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.77. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $84.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $79.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 14.14%.The company had revenue of $4.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 68.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $87.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.63.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.