Heritage Trust Co Makes New Investment in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Heritage Trust Co bought a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 6,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.9% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 336,265 shares of the company's stock worth $21,958,000 after purchasing an additional 55,018 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.6% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,984 shares of the company's stock valued at $391,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 28.7% during the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 82,826 shares of the company's stock worth $5,910,000 after acquiring an additional 18,489 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.00.

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Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock traded down $0.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,556,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,595,905. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.70. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1-year low of $51.97 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $40.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.