Fulton Bank N.A. Buys 13,757 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Fulton Bank N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 62.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 35,715 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 13,757 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Epiq Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company's stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the company's stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 12,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $645,000 after buying an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.36.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.72 on Monday, reaching $63.01. 4,288,609 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,207,386. The stock has a market cap of $35.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $65.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Xcel Energy's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

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.