UBS Group Cuts Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $89.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price cut by UBS Group from $93.00 to $89.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

XEL has been the topic of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $91.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Argus set a $86.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Mizuho set a $86.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $88.44.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $77.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.21 and a 200 day moving average of $78.09. The firm has a market cap of $48.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.45. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96. The company had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. Xcel Energy’s revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.30%.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XEL. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at $25,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 168.4% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Abound Wealth Management lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 394.5% during the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 288 shares during the period. Finally, Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.