Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Given New $72.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages have also recently weighed in on XEL. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $57.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. KeyCorp raised their price objective 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. Argus raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective 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. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.31.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $71.35 on Friday. 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 $40.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.17, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.38. Xcel Energy has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $71.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.75.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.67% and a return on equity of 10.76%. The company had revenue of $3.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.23 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in XEL. Czech National Bank grew its position in 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 buying an additional 8,790 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in 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 buying an additional 66,840 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 21.6% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 61,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,267,000 after buying an additional 10,851 shares in the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 22,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,228,000 after buying an additional 8,656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Xcel Energy by 83.5% in the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,103,809 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,954,000 after buying 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.