Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 17,263 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. by 9.6%, owning 197,047 shares valued at approximately $13.9 million.
• Xcel Energy reported earnings of $0.75 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.09, while their revenue increased by 8.6% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.1%, with a dividend payout ratio of 63.16%.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) by 9.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 197,047 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 17,263 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $13,920,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock worth $247,609,000 after buying an additional 3,454,700 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock worth $271,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,939 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the first quarter valued at $155,510,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,811,241 shares of the company's stock worth $1,473,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL traded down $0.46 on Friday, hitting $71.93. 7,792,732 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,455,766. The firm has a market cap of $42.54 billion, a PE ratio of 19.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.60. Xcel Energy Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.04 and a twelve month high of $74.57. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The company had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. Xcel Energy's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 63.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

About Xcel Energy

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.