Barclays Increases Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $71.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price hoisted by Barclays from $67.00 to $71.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on XEL. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.62.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $72.92 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $66.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.22. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market cap of $41.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.23 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,655,000 after purchasing an additional 8,790 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 165.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 107,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,770,000 after purchasing an additional 66,840 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 61,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 10,851 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 60.3% during the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 22,999 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,228,000 after acquiring an additional 8,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 83.5% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,103,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,954,000 after acquiring an additional 502,231 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.