Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Sells 1,862 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado reduced its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 77,898 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,862 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $4,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 70,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,359,000 after buying an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Epiq Partners LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $338,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $57.68. 1,064,380 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,484,792. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $32.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $54.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.16. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $64.25.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on XEL shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.00.

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.