Kentucky Retirement Systems Lowers Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems lowered its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 38,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 528 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,587,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 185.2% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 34,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,283,000 after purchasing an additional 22,701 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.5% in the third quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 8,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.1% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 63,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,123,000 after buying an additional 2,490 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7,432.5% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 506,488 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,074,000 after buying an additional 499,764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 27.2% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 10,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,000 after buying an additional 2,309 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.9 %

XEL stock opened at $69.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $67.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.68.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. Barclays lowered their target price 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. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.91.

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.