Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock Rating Upgraded by Scotiabank

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) was upgraded by equities researchers at Scotiabank to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, July 31st. New Street Research set a $91.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $95.00 to $92.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.65.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $70.69 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $44.16 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.39. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $68.72 and a 1-year high of $84.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.51.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.54 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 15.28%.Xcel Energy’s revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $280,187,000. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter valued at about $94,211,000. Electron Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Electron Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,936,695 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,044,000 after acquiring an additional 255,884 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 29,933,748 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,403,680,000 after buying an additional 491,937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $503,543,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based energy company that provides electricity and natural gas through regulated utility operations. Its businesses generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity, as well as distribute natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Through its operating companies, Xcel Energy serves customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. The company’s operations include a diverse generation portfolio featuring wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other energy resources.