Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives $69.17 Consensus Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.17.

A number of brokerages have commented on XEL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $67.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $67.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.79. 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 has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company’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 posted $1.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.99%.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after purchasing an additional 2,323,448 shares during the last quarter. Brookfield Corp ON lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 520.1% during the third quarter. Brookfield Corp ON now owns 2,509,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $163,840,000 after buying an additional 2,104,405 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 120.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,025 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,325,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merewether Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $64,301,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company 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.