New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 10,000 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

New York State Common Retirement Fund cut its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 240,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,000 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $16,245,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dakota Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,562,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Integris Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,323 shares of the company’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.9% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $69.94 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.73. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $73.38. The firm has a market cap of $40.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.91.

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.