Wesbanco Bank Inc. Has $280,000 Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,143 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the period. Wesbanco Bank Inc.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $280,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth $35,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth 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. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $43,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $66.61 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.90. The company has a market cap of $38.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its 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). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be given 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 is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

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.