Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Barclays Analyst Says

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Barclays from $69.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 1.47% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.60.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock traded up $1.24 on Monday, hitting $70.96. 673,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,577,643. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $51.97 and a 1-year 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $68.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $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 this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. MCF Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 566.3% in the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 504 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 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.