Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Position in Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 6.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,230,877 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 69,154 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.21% of Xcel Energy worth $99,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Partners LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 168.4% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Clearstead Trust LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 202.2% during the 2nd quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 417 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Collier Financial acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Mizuho set a $86.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. BTIG Research set a $94.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.60.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.1%

XEL stock opened at $83.36 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $76.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Xcel Energy Inc. has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.83%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.5925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.67%.

Xcel Energy Company 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.