$0.60 EPS Expected for Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) This Quarter

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

According to Zacks, analysts expect that Xcel Energy will report full year earnings of $3.16 per share for the current fiscal year, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.15 to $3.18. For the next financial year, analysts forecast that the company will report earnings of $3.40 per share, with EPS estimates ranging from $3.35 to $3.44. Zacks Investment Research’s EPS calculations are an average based on a survey of sell-side analysts that that provide coverage for Xcel Energy.

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

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI raised Xcel Energy from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $70.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 25th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 20th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group started coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, April 25th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.10.

XEL stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.16. 145,607 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,431,081. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $73.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.69 and a beta of 0.33. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $61.15 and a 52-week high of $76.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 15th will be issued a $0.4875 dividend. This represents a $1.95 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 14th. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is currently 65.22%.

In related 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 29,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,146,622.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.05% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Prospera Financial Services Inc boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.6% during the first quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 9,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $680,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 3.4% during the first quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 4,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 4.5% during the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 3,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 16,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,132,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 0.8% during the first quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 19,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. 75.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Xcel Energy (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.

Read More