Barclays Boosts Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $67.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective upped by Barclays from $57.00 to $67.00 in a report issued on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Argus raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $65.29.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $63.43 on Monday. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $65.64. The firm has a market cap of $35.24 billion, a PE ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.62.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly 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). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.94% and a net margin of 13.46%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were given a $0.548 dividend. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.77%.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. &PARTNERS purchased a new position in Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth about $323,000. Global Assets Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,465,000. Epiq Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Epiq Partners LLC now owns 29,072 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $5,504,000. Finally, First National Bank Sioux Falls boosted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 19.8% in the first quarter. First National Bank Sioux Falls now owns 4,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.