Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target Increased to $59.00 by Analysts at Evercore ISI

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target increased by equities researchers at Evercore ISI from $54.00 to $59.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 9.34% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on XEL. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays upgraded Xcel Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. StockNews.com cut Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Xcel Energy from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $58.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $62.58.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $53.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $53.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.07. 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 $70.72.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 11.12% and a net margin of 13.36%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.76 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 433 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.