Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Sees Strong Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) saw strong trading volume on Monday after KeyCorp raised their price target on the stock from $69.00 to $74.00. KeyCorp currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 6,789,070 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 63% from the previous session’s volume of 4,177,051 shares.The stock last traded at $65.36 and had previously closed at $66.69.

XEL has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,684,499 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,186,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,264,000 after purchasing an additional 74,690 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 120.2% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,095,000 after purchasing an additional 1,299,025 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 130.4% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,325,000 after buying an additional 1,179,823 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 10.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,854,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,046,000 after buying an additional 174,653 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The company has a market capitalization of $36.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.99% and a net margin of 13.67%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Xcel Energy

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.