Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target Cut to $69.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at Barclays from $71.00 to $69.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target would indicate a potential upside of 1.95% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on XEL. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.50.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $67.68 on Wednesday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.75. 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 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $38.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The firm had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Xcel Energy in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. MCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Xcel Energy by 566.3% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 504 shares during the period. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $43,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.