New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 57,829 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 11.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 436,231 shares of the company's stock after selling 57,829 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.08% of Xcel Energy worth $29,454,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter valued at $33,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

XEL stock traded up $0.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.07. The company had a trading volume of 2,424,712 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,475,886. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.43. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th were given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.91.

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.