Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Releases Earnings Results

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by ($0.06), Briefing.com reports. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ XEL traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $66.71. The company had a trading volume of 6,808,586 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,168,878. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $68.29. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $63.48 and its 200-day moving average is $58.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on XEL shares. KeyCorp boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.38.

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.