Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives $92.00 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has received an average rating of “Buy” from the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $92.7647.

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. Barclays increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. New Street Research set a $91.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.5%

XEL opened at $78.77 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $79.05. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $69.16 and a twelve month high of $84.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.70, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 68.30%.

Institutional Trading of Xcel Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company’s stock worth $593,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 5,485 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,549 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.