Morgan Stanley Cuts Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $83.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $89.00 to $83.00 in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

XEL has been the topic of several other research reports. Mizuho set a $92.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Barclays lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.06.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $72.30 on Friday. Xcel Energy has a one year low of $71.79 and a one year high of $84.23. The company has a market cap of $45.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.81, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $77.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.08.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth approximately $280,187,000. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth about $94,211,000. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC now owns 2,324,667 shares of the company’s stock worth $171,700,000 after acquiring an additional 356,208 shares during the last quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,936,695 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,044,000 after purchasing an additional 255,884 shares during the period. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 3,579,918 shares of the company’s stock worth $264,413,000 after purchasing an additional 415,759 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based electric and natural gas utility holding company that serves customers across parts of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Through its operating companies, Xcel provides electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas distribution and related energy services.

The company operates a diversified generating fleet that includes wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other resources.