Analysts Set Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target at $69.17

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.67.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday. Barclays boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Integris Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. Integris Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. raised its position in Xcel Energy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Bond & Devick Financial Network Inc. now owns 15,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.9% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 3,037 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the second quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $66.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $73.38. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.39. The company has a market capitalization of $38.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.99%.

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.