Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $78.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.08% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.70.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.0 %

Xcel Energy stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $70.22. 594,820 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,619,472. The business’s 50 day moving average is $68.02 and its 200 day moving average is $66.94. Xcel Energy has a 52 week low of $51.58 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The company has a market capitalization of $40.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $446,175,000 after acquiring an additional 3,581,436 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 236.7% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.