Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.17.

XEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $63.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $68.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.17.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its 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). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Investors of record on Monday, January 6th will be issued a $0.5475 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 64.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Graypoint LLC raised its position in Xcel Energy by 29.1% in the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 905 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 40.6% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 3,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,000 after buying an additional 874 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 388,240 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,352,000 after buying an additional 1,578 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 98,001 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,617,000 after buying an additional 2,061 shares during the period. Finally, Burkett Financial Services LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

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.