Associated Banc Corp Cuts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 295,161 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,782 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Xcel Energy worth $19,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.10.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.20 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $69.95. 1,576,929 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,655,659. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $51.37 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $67.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.80.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (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%. On average, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 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.