Barclays Raises Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target to $57.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price target increased by Barclays from $56.00 to $57.00 in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. TheStreet cut Xcel Energy from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Xcel Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $54.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.86. Xcel Energy has a one year low of $46.79 and a one year high of $69.85. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.94. The company has a market cap of $30.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.29, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.76 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.548 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 26,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 20,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Xcel Energy by 29.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in Xcel Energy by 20.1% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 1,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 70,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,359,000 after buying an additional 198 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

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.