Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

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

Several research firms recently issued reports on XEL. KeyCorp upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. 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. Morgan Stanley cut 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 report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 23,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,562,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Integris Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.7% during the third quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company’s stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL opened at $66.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $38.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $68.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.51. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released 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 company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.99%.

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.