Employees Retirement System of Texas Takes $2.83 Million Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Employees Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 53,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,831,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Epiq Partners LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company's stock worth $1,563,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.3% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 16,054 shares of the company's stock valued at $863,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 6,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 12,074 shares of the company's stock worth $645,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 3,820 shares of the company's stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.14.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $64.57. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,895,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,252,125. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.26. The stock has a market cap of $35.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $64.95.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The company's revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 65.77%.

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.