First Bank & Trust Sells 21,790 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First Bank & Trust decreased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 30.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 48,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,790 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,613,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 298,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,448,000 after acquiring an additional 7,679 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $896,000. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP now owns 325,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,131,000 after buying an additional 11,709 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 47.7% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 115,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,121,000 after acquiring an additional 37,131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 930.5% in the third quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 45,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,627,000 after acquiring an additional 41,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $53.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,726,729 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,455,004. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market cap of $29.68 billion, a PE ratio of 16.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $65.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.40.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research upgraded Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Xcel Energy 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.