Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Rating Increased to Overweight at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has $72.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $70.00.

XEL has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on 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. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.67.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

XEL stock opened at $63.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $46.79 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $68.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $63.30.

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

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be given a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.99%.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of XEL. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. West Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.