Wesbanco Bank Inc. Buys 534 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,143 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 534 shares during the quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $280,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 134,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,055,000 after acquiring an additional 6,114 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during 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 last quarter. Genesis Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $232,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 6,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $66.61 on Friday. 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 market cap of $38.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $68.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.90. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on XEL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.50.

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.