Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Has $10.45 Million Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank trimmed its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 168,775 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,819 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $10,449,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 19,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 26,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR raised its position in Xcel Energy by 5.6% during the second quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 3,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.8% in the first quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 3,224 shares of the company’s stock valued at $217,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 11,461 shares of the company’s stock valued at $713,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. KeyCorp dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. StockNews.com raised Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. TheStreet lowered Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $54.72 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $54.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $71.32.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. The company had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 68.22%.

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.