Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on XEL. TheStreet lowered Xcel Energy from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays raised Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of XEL opened at $54.72 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.59. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $71.32.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.01 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 12.47%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.69 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 298,074 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,448,000 after acquiring an additional 7,679 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 47.7% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 115,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,121,000 after buying an additional 37,131 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 930.5% during the 3rd quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 45,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,627,000 after buying an additional 41,462 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 70,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,359,000 after buying an additional 28,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 64,062,856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,665,677,000 after buying an additional 8,644,054 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.