UBS Group Increases Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $73.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price increased by investment analysts at UBS Group from $70.00 to $73.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 5.63% from the company’s current price.

XEL has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.30.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.4 %

XEL opened at $69.11 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.05. The company has a market cap of $39.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy has a one year low of $51.58 and a one year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish acquired 2,170 shares of Xcel Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,609,000 after purchasing an additional 3,454,700 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 236.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $329,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,429,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 379.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company’s stock worth $271,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,939 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.