M&T Bank Corp Sells 5,651 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

M&T Bank Corp lowered its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 112,962 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,651 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $6,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 41.5% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 16,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,010,000 after purchasing an additional 4,789 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 13.6% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 111,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,874,000 after purchasing an additional 13,261 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 5,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $226,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 52.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 3,312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $54.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36. 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 Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $69.85. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $53.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.89.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.76 EPS. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.83.

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.