Barclays Increases Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $71.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Barclays from $67.00 to $71.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential downside of 2.63% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.62.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.5 %

Xcel Energy stock opened at $72.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $60.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.23 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $33,000. TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at $30,000. American National Bank purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.