Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Rated “Buy” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.21.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. Mizuho set a $92.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $97.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. HSBC initiated coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $89.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 15th.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.2%

NASDAQ XEL opened at $77.18 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $68.72 and a fifty-two week high of $84.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.36.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.14. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 4.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in XEL. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at about $4,890,136,000. GQG Partners LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth approximately $891,688,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $708,086,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $503,543,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth $433,927,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc is a public utility holding company that provides electricity and natural gas services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers. Its operations include the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity, as well as the distribution and sale of natural gas.

The company serves customers across Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin through operating companies including Northern States Power, Public Service Company of Colorado, Southwestern Public Service Company, and NSP-Wisconsin.