JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $87.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price trimmed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $90.00 to $87.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on XEL. UBS Group set a $85.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. They issued a “moderate buy” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $84.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.57.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $75.15 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.45. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The company had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.89 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 10,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $752,000 after acquiring an additional 938 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 103,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,308,000 after acquiring an additional 12,636 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 197,047 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,920,000 after acquiring an additional 17,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. National Pension Service now owns 637,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,097,000 after purchasing an additional 19,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.