First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Lowers Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown lowered its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 17.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,702 shares during the period. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 36.8% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 18,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after purchasing an additional 5,036 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 57.6% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 3,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $630,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 14,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,000 after purchasing an additional 3,457 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 68,652 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $59.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,580,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,355,471. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $55.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $33.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $64.25.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.91.

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.