BMO Capital Markets Boosts Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $73.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target upped by stock analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $69.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price indicates a potential upside of 3.86% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.09.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $70.29 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $40.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $69.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.98. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $51.97 and a 12 month high of $73.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average price of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 39.3% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 260,757 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,180,000 after buying an additional 73,523 shares during the last quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 46.2% during the first quarter. Oakworth Capital Inc. now owns 1,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth $1,783,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 28.6% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 26,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,872,000 after acquiring an additional 5,883 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.