Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Shares Purchased by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,796 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $359,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the fourth quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on XEL. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $55.24. 4,350,946 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,315,395. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $69.71. The company has a market capitalization of $30.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $53.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.74.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.548 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

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.