Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan Acquires 6,970 Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. $XEL

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan increased its holdings in Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) by 2.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 270,775 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,970 shares during the period. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan’s holdings in Xcel Energy were worth $21,743,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $240,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 30.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 48,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,434,000 after purchasing an additional 14,029 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 10,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $694,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 16.0% during the second quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 2,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ XEL opened at $76.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy Inc. has a one year low of $71.29 and a one year high of $84.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $79.25 and its 200-day moving average is $79.75.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is presently 64.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Mizuho set a $92.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, May 4th. New Street Research set a $91.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.41.

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.