Morton Community Bank Increases Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Morton Community Bank lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 55,503 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,005 shares during the quarter. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $3,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.2% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,190,756 shares of the company’s stock worth $991,956,000 after buying an additional 892,740 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $952,091,000 after buying an additional 262,191 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,777,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,023,000 after purchasing an additional 11,529 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,625,848 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,817,000 after purchasing an additional 208,233 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.00 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $67.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $49.89 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

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.