New York State Common Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 28.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 500,496 shares of the company’s stock after selling 202,907 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Xcel Energy worth $40,365,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 168.4% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 202.2% during the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 98.8% in the 3rd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $76.06 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.00. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $83.01. The firm has a market cap of $44.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.19, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.45% and a net margin of 13.46%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Argus raised Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp lowered their price target on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.40.

Xcel Energy Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.