Associated Banc Corp Sells 13,782 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Associated Banc Corp trimmed its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 295,161 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,782 shares during the quarter. Associated Banc Corp owned approximately 0.05% of Xcel Energy worth $19,929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dakota Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. GenTrust LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 3,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the period. Integris Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Xcel Energy

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of XEL opened at $69.75 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $51.37 and a one year high of $73.38. The company has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.71.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. Research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 66.28%.

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.