Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Purchases 9,465 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 163.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,241 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,465 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 5,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $352,000 after buying an additional 933 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 127,993 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,358,000 after buying an additional 4,535 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $202,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $215,000. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $648,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 research note on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $68.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.57 and a 200-day moving average of $66.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.07 billion, a PE ratio of 19.77, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $49.89 and a 12 month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results 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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend 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.