Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Declares $0.55 Quarterly Dividend

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 18th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.5475 per share on Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.30%.

Xcel Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 6.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 21 consecutive years. Xcel Energy has a dividend payout ratio of 57.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $3.82 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.19 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.3%.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $66.40 on Thursday. Xcel Energy has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $38.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $67.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.67.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on XEL shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.17.

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.