Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Reduces Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• The Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. by 12.7%, bringing its holdings to 26,870 shares valued at approximately $1.90 million.
• Xcel Energy recently reported earnings of $0.75 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and boasted a net margin of 14.85% with a year-over-year revenue growth of 8.6%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 63.16%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System decreased its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 12.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 26,870 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,917 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,902,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth $29,000. BankPlus Trust Department bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.39. The stock had a trading volume of 3,136,922 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,643,536. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $69.63 and a 200-day moving average of $69.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $42.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.34. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.31 and a 12-month high of $74.57.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.54 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Xcel Energy 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.