Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives $62.92 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $62.92.

XEL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $62.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth $585,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth $3,472,000. Brown Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the second quarter worth $687,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 33.8% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 143,573 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,668,000 after acquiring an additional 36,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the second quarter valued at $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.0 %

XEL opened at $63.85 on Monday. Xcel Energy has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $64.25. The stock has a market cap of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.38. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $58.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.55 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a $0.548 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.43%. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 65.77%.

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.