Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 985 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 30,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 985 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $2,079,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Hodges Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 447.1% in the 4th quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 51,396 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,470,000 after purchasing an additional 42,001 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 189,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,404,000 after purchasing an additional 12,477 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $278,000. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 64.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 27,634 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,805,000 after acquiring an additional 10,821 shares during the period. Finally, GEN Financial Management INC. bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on XEL. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. KeyCorp increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.70.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $70.09 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.58 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.96. The firm has a market cap of $40.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.28%.

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.