KeyCorp Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective hoisted by KeyCorp from $74.00 to $79.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock. KeyCorp also issued estimates for Xcel Energy’s Q4 2024 earnings at $0.84 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $3.52 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $3.84 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $4.13 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $4.43 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $4.82 EPS.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on XEL. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.00.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $69.74 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $60.76. The company has a market cap of $40.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.82. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $46.79 and a fifty-two week high of $73.38.

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

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 17.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 5,795 shares of the company’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the third quarter worth $1,124,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 28.7% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 82,826 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,910,000 after buying an additional 18,489 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.6% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $391,000 after buying an additional 668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 12.0% in the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 466 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.