Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Acquires 66,209 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Key Points

• Mirae Asset Global Investments raised its stake in Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) by 20.2%, buying 66,209 shares to hold 394,447 shares worth about $29.13 million (roughly 0.07% of the company).
• Xcel Energy increased its quarterly dividend to $0.5925 (annualized $2.37) for a yield of 2.9%; the ex-dividend date is March 13 and the payment date is April 20.
• XEL reported quarterly EPS of $0.96 (matching estimates) and revenue of $3.56 billion (below expectations) with revenue up 14.1% year-over-year; analysts have a consensus Buy rating and an average target of $88.44.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 394,447 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 66,209 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Xcel Energy worth $29,134,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 76,725,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,187,929,000 after buying an additional 2,001,018 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,896,553 shares of the company's stock worth $2,914,984,000 after buying an additional 1,752,296 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,851,485 shares of the company's stock worth $2,326,872,000 after acquiring an additional 2,589,406 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 21,026,015 shares of the company's stock worth $1,695,748,000 after acquiring an additional 831,639 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,526,873 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,574,842,000 after acquiring an additional 807,353 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of XEL opened at $81.08 on Friday. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $84.23. The company has a market cap of $50.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $80.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.81.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

XEL has been the topic of a number of research reports. BTIG Research set a $94.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Argus set a $86.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Xcel Energy from $93.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $88.44.

Xcel Energy Profile

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.

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