Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $92.56 According to Analysts

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has received a consensus rating of “Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $91.65.

XEL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Monday, June 8th. New Street Research set a $91.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. Mizuho set a $92.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $83.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $4,890,136,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,896,012 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,145,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770,356 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,933,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,403,680,000 after acquiring an additional 491,937 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,572,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,814,920,000 after acquiring an additional 3,546,423 shares during the period. Finally, GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $891,688,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $71.40 on Tuesday. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $68.72 and a fifty-two week high of $84.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The firm has a market cap of $44.60 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $75.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.30.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business’s 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. Sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 is 64.93%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based energy company that provides electricity and natural gas through regulated utility operations. Its businesses generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity, as well as distribute natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Through its operating companies, Xcel Energy serves customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. The company’s operations include a diverse generation portfolio featuring wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other energy resources.