Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Given New $80.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target reduced by Morgan Stanley from $81.00 to $80.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $73.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $78.55.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.9%

XEL opened at $77.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $62.12 and a fifty-two week high of $78.80. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $72.83 and its 200 day moving average is $70.44. The stock has a market cap of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.35.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 10.52%. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 19,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% in the 2nd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 8,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 16,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,094,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $148,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LCM Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 3,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.