Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Has $5.45 Million Stake in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 35.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 67,585 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,817 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $5,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Family Capital Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth about $170,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,742 shares of the company’s stock valued at $786,000 after buying an additional 460 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 21,659 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,747,000 after buying an additional 452 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,613,000 after buying an additional 3,939 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 3.1% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 6,969 shares of the company’s stock worth $562,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $74.26 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $83.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.93 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.26.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.89 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.25 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 69.51%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. They set a “moderate buy” rating on the stock. Finally, BTIG Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.21.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.