Xcel Energy Inc. (XEL) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.55 on January 29th

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 18th,RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.5475 per share on Wednesday, January 29th. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 6th.

Xcel Energy has increased its dividend payment by an average of 6.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 21 years. Xcel Energy has a payout ratio of 57.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $3.82 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.19 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.3%.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

XEL opened at $66.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $46.79 and a 1-year high of $73.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.63 and a 200-day moving average of $61.70. The company has a market capitalization of $38.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.76% and a net margin of 13.67%. The company’s revenue was down .5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.23 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

XEL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $71.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $71.00 to $76.00 in a report on Friday, November 1st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.17.

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.