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

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $62.00.

XEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. TheStreet cut Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 11th.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock opened at $53.20 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $65.62. The firm has a market cap of $29.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 13.36%. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.5475 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.1% in the 2nd quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 10,756 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after purchasing an additional 421 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 48.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $544,000 after buying an additional 3,328 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.6% in the 2nd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 6,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 177.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 30,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,640,000 after purchasing an additional 19,517 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.