Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Cuts Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lowered its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 18,210 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,449 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 114.4% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 671,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,552,000 after buying an additional 358,099 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 42.8% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 7,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 2,254 shares during the period. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. ICICI Prudential Asset Management Co Ltd now owns 5,355 shares of the company’s stock valued at $332,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 60,783 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,014 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $57.60. The company had a trading volume of 605,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,481,114. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $64.25. The stock has a market cap of $32.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.37. The business’s 50-day moving average is $54.32 and its 200 day moving average is $55.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.76 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th were given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on XEL. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.