Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on XEL. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 13th. New Street Research set a $91.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, June 8th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $99.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $92.56.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Xcel Energy stock opened at $69.39 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.45 and a 200-day moving average of $78.58. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $68.72 and a 1-year high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.14. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 15.28% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Xcel Energy by 9.2% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,442 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,007,000 after acquiring an additional 3,156 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,896,012 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,145,176,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770,356 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA bought a new stake in Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $85,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 11.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 47,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,854,000 after acquiring an additional 4,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Xcel Energy by 118.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 505,096 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,559,000 after acquiring an additional 273,749 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based electric and natural gas utility holding company that serves customers across parts of Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. Through its operating companies, Xcel provides electricity generation, transmission and distribution, as well as natural gas distribution and related energy services.

The company operates a diversified generating fleet that includes wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other resources.