Zacks: Brokerages Anticipate Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) to Announce $0.60 EPS

Wall Street brokerages predict that Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) will post earnings of $0.60 per share for the current fiscal quarter, according to Zacks Investment Research. Three analysts have provided estimates for Xcel Energy’s earnings, with the highest EPS estimate coming in at $0.61 and the lowest estimate coming in at $0.59. Xcel Energy posted earnings of $0.58 per share during the same quarter last year, which would suggest a positive year over year growth rate of 3.4%. The firm is scheduled to issue its next earnings results on Monday, January 1st.

On average, analysts expect that Xcel Energy will report full-year earnings of $3.17 per share for the current financial year, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.15 to $3.20. For the next financial year, analysts expect that the firm will post earnings of $3.39 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.35 to $3.43. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS averages are a mean average based on a survey of sell-side research analysts that cover Xcel Energy.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 28th. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.54% and a net margin of 11.84%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.67 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several brokerages have recently commented on XEL. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 20th. Credit Suisse Group began coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, April 25th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Xcel Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 25th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $64.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Monday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $74.40.

In other news, SVP Frank P. Prager sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $73,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,146,622.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 256.3% during the 1st quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 342 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Equitec Proprietary Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. TAP Consulting LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Industrial Alliance Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. 75.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $72.79 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $61.15 and a 12 month high of $76.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.89 and a 200-day moving average of $68.40. The company has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.33.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.4875 per share. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.68%. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.46. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 14th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.22%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile (Get Rating)

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, purchases, transmits, distributes, and sells electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through coal, nuclear, natural gas, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, oil, wood/refuse, and wind energy sources.

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