Brokerages Set Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Target Price at $69.64

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.91.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on XEL shares. KeyCorp increased their price target on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $69.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 22nd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,985,136,000 after acquiring an additional 953,002 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,445,477,000 after acquiring an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,189,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,178,956 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,029,223,000 after acquiring an additional 616,853 shares in the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.3 %

NASDAQ:XEL opened at $67.40 on Thursday. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $46.79 and a 1 year high of $73.38. The stock has a market cap of $38.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.43. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.19 and a 200-day moving average of $65.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.65% and a net margin of 14.40%. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 6th were issued a dividend of $0.5475 per share. This represents a $2.19 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 6th. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 63.66%.

About Xcel Energy

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.