Brokerages Set Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target at $69.17

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.67.

XEL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $64.08 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $36.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 64.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 3,461.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 21,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 21,147 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 38.0% in the 2nd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,271,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,910,000 after acquiring an additional 350,056 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted 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 valued at $111,325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,823 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 20.5% during the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 29,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,589,000 after purchasing an additional 5,067 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.6% in the second quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 93,119 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,994,000 after purchasing an additional 548 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.