Analysts Set Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Target Price at $61.91

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $61.91.

XEL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $65.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ XEL opened at $59.96 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.37. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $46.79 and a twelve month high of $64.25. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 11.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be given a $0.548 dividend. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisory Alpha LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $204,000. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 63.2% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 230,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,325,000 after purchasing an additional 89,396 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Gateway Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $236,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $127,000. 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.