China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 4,846 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 51.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,191 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,846 shares during the quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $1,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of XEL. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Rossby Financial LCC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $50,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $53,000. Finally, Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 23.2% in the 4th quarter. Creative Financial Designs Inc. ADV now owns 827 shares of the company's stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $75.80.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL traded up $0.17 on Friday, hitting $68.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,386,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,603,776. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $68.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.61. The firm has a market cap of $39.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.36. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.88 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

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.