Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Sets New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $65.76 and last traded at $64.46, with a volume of 6994608 shares. The stock had previously closed at $65.11.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

XEL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Argus upgraded Xcel Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $65.54.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54. The firm has a market cap of $35.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $57.79.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.29 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th were paid a $0.548 dividend. This is an increase from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.37%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in Xcel Energy by 770.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,552,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $405,955,000 after acquiring an additional 6,684,499 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Xcel Energy by 1.8% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 4,186,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,264,000 after acquiring an additional 74,690 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 120.2% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,379,615 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,095,000 after acquiring an additional 1,299,025 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 130.4% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,084,345 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,325,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Xcel Energy by 10.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,854,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $99,046,000 after acquiring an additional 174,653 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is currently 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.