Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.00.

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 price target on Xcel Energy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $72.38 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $41.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.38. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $69.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.71. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $51.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.95 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.88 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This trade represents a 259.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, BankPlus Trust Department acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.