Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $79.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.92.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.1%

Xcel Energy stock opened at $81.16 on Wednesday. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $62.58 and a fifty-two week high of $83.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $48.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.37. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.68.

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

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 63.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 1,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew 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 period. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew 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 period. Bessemer Group Inc. grew 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 period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC grew 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 period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.