Arizona State Retirement System Increases Stock Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 166,027 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,100 shares during the quarter. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $11,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock worth $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock worth $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the period. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock valued at $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.80.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.0%

XEL traded down $0.68 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.49. 333,729 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,652,535. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The business's 50 day moving average is $68.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.62. Xcel Energy Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $53.37 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $39.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.15, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

About Xcel Energy

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.