Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 45.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,612 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 61,369 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $12,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. FARMERS & MERCHANTS TRUST Co OF LONG BEACH purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter valued at $827,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,372,000 after acquiring an additional 38,653 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth about $3,584,000. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter valued at about $400,000. Finally, Amarillo National Bank grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the first quarter. Amarillo National Bank now owns 12,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $648,000 after purchasing an additional 485 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $64.46 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $65.76. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $63.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.91.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 65.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective 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 research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.54.

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.