Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Price

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.31.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $71.60 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $71.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. American National Bank acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.