New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Sells 600 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lowered its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,578 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.3 %

XEL stock opened at $68.61 on Monday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $67.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th were paid a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.19%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 63.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.