Huntington National Bank Buys 889 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Huntington National Bank increased its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,002 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 889 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,351,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,985,136,000 after purchasing an additional 953,002 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,538,000 after buying an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,246,000 after buying an additional 2,422,483 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,223,000 after buying an additional 616,853 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.7 %

XEL stock opened at $72.14 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a PE ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.93 and a 200 day moving average of $67.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.00.

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.