M&T Bank Corp Sells 14,718 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

M&T Bank Corp cut its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 111,342 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,718 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $7,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 19.6% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 336,265 shares of the company's stock worth $21,958,000 after buying an additional 55,018 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,562,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $952,091,000 after acquiring an additional 262,191 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.9% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company's stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio raised its position in Xcel Energy by 13.0% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 247,997 shares of the company's stock worth $16,194,000 after purchasing an additional 28,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $67.72. 2,535,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,142,564. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. 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's fifty day moving average is $67.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.87. The company has a market cap of $38.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.23%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.17.

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.