Retirement Systems of Alabama Trims Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Retirement Systems of Alabama cut its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 121,614 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,092 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $7,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Capital Analysts LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 293.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 323 shares in the last quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $54.25 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $69.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $30.14 billion, a PE ratio of 16.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $53.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.91.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.04%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

Xcel Energy 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.