Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Reduces Holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,506 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,416 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $69.46 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.25. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $69.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $39.89 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on XEL. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.38.

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.