California Public Employees Retirement System Has $176.59 Million Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 5.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,615,400 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149,790 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $176,592,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 28,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after purchasing an additional 664 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 20.1% during the third quarter. Freedom Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $438,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 3.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 97,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,360,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 11.0% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 99,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,489,000 after buying an additional 9,821 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 147.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 158,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,318,000 after acquiring an additional 94,080 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.6 %

XEL opened at $69.72 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $51.97 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.06 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $68.59 and its 200 day moving average is $67.27.

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

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.27%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays dropped their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company 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 eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.30.

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.