Fifth Third Bancorp Has $2.84 Million Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 42,038 shares of the company’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,838,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at about $35,000. MCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on XEL shares. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 2.1 %

XEL opened at $67.99 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.16. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.99%.

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.