First Hawaiian Bank Reduces Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

First Hawaiian Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 9,481 shares of the company’s stock after selling 638 shares during the quarter. First Hawaiian Bank’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $640,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Andra AP fonden bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley reduced 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. KeyCorp lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.17.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL stock opened at $63.37 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.10. The stock has a market cap of $36.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.99%.

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.