MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Buys 45,189 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 438,059 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 45,189 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. owned 0.08% of Xcel Energy worth $29,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 26.0% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 731 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $68.80 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.61. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.97 and a 1 year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

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.