Associated Banc Corp Decreases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. by 1.3%, holding approximately $20.61 million in shares at the end of the first quarter.
• Institutional investors collectively own 78.38% of Xcel Energy, with several hedge funds significantly increasing their positions in the fourth quarter.
• Xcel Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, providing an annualized yield of 3.1% to shareholders.

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 291,193 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,968 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp owned 0.05% of Xcel Energy worth $20,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock worth $247,609,000 after buying an additional 3,454,700 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 187.0% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,829,425 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,049 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL traded up $0.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $73.33. 3,328,850 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,379,997. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $69.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.24 and a 52-week high of $74.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%. The business's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.54 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

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.