First County Bank CT Takes Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First County Bank CT bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,647 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $541,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth $240,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 53.2% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,450 shares of the company's stock valued at $682,000 after purchasing an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 76,390 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,158,000 after purchasing an additional 7,873 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,676 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 711 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.73 on Friday, reaching $70.20. 3,985,767 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,599,829. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $69.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.96. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $78.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $75.90.

About Xcel Energy

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.