BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Xcel Energy to $94 and maintained an outperform rating, implying roughly 18.9% upside from the current share price.
• Analysts are broadly bullish — four rate Strong Buy, 13 rate Buy and one rates Sell — producing a consensus Buy rating with an average target of $90.12 and several firms issuing targets near $94–$95.
• XEL trades around $79.05 (market cap ≈ $49.3B, P/E ~23.1); the company reported earnings of $0.96 per share that matched estimates while revenue rose 14.1% year‑over‑year to $3.56B but missed forecasts, and institutional investors own about 78% of the stock.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) had its price objective boosted by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $90.00 to $94.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 18.91% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on XEL. BTIG Research set a $94.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $82.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Argus set a $86.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, March 12th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a report on Monday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $90.12.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.0%

Xcel Energy stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.05. The stock had a trading volume of 478,640 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,797,627. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The stock has a market cap of $49.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.43. Xcel Energy has a 12 month low of $65.21 and a 12 month high of $84.23. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $80.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.78.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.96. The firm had revenue of $3.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.46% and a net margin of 13.76%.Xcel Energy's quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 37.1% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 8,871,863 shares of the company's stock worth $704,780,000 after buying an additional 2,399,089 shares during the period. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 114.3% during the first quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA now owns 90,768 shares of the company's stock worth $7,211,000 after buying an additional 48,414 shares during the period. Cambient Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $214,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $5,648,000. Finally, Longview Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the first quarter worth approximately $203,000. 78.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

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.

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