Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.2857.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $80.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $93.00 price target for the company. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Cowen began coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XEL. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.7% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 12,683 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,022,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 1,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 19,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,307,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.4%

XEL opened at $74.42 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $78.56 and its 200-day moving average is $74.79. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $62.58 and a 52-week high of $83.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.08). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.89 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.25 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.51%.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.