Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) PT Raised to $66.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $63.00 to $66.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on XEL. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $64.57.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $64.07 on Wednesday. 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 market capitalization of $35.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $62.61 and a 200-day moving average of $57.53. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $65.64.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.57 by ($0.03). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.52 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.548 per share. This is a boost from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. 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 bought and sold shares of XEL. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 23.2% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 643,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,614,000 after acquiring an additional 121,118 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,625,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $87,372,000 after buying an additional 38,653 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 24.8% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 100,969 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,427,000 after buying an additional 20,068 shares in the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 91.6% during the 1st quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 190,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,245,000 after acquiring an additional 91,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the 2nd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 105,882 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,655,000 after acquiring an additional 8,790 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.