California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 30.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,068,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 457,092 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.17% of Xcel Energy worth $84,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Heartland Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth about $288,000. Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 13.2% in the 1st quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC now owns 52,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,176,000 after buying an additional 6,133 shares in the last quarter. Financiere des Professionnels Fonds d investissement inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,511,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 17,589 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,397,000 after buying an additional 843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 10,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $869,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $78.77 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $79.09. The company has a market cap of $49.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.16 and a fifty-two week high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 14.14%.The business had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.84 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. New Street Research set a $91.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $89.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.76.

About Xcel Energy

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.