Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a consensus “Buy” rating on Xcel Energy, with 13 buy, two strong-buy and one hold recommendation. The average 12-month price target is $92.56, above the stock’s reported opening price of $69.39.
• Xcel Energy reported quarterly EPS of $0.93, beating estimates of $0.79, although revenue fell 5.1% year over year to $3.12 billion and missed expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5925, equivalent to an annualized $2.37 payout and a 3.4% yield; institutional investors own 78.38% of outstanding shares.

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the sixteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $92.56.

XEL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $88.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Barclays upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. New Street Research set a $91.00 target price on Xcel Energy in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $91.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 0.6%

Xcel Energy stock opened at $69.39 on Tuesday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $76.45 and its 200-day moving average is $78.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.70. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $68.72 and a 1 year high of $84.23. The company has a market cap of $43.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.39.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $0.93 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.59 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.93%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy Inc is a Minneapolis-based energy company that provides electricity and natural gas through regulated utility operations. Its businesses generate, transmit, distribute and sell electricity, as well as distribute natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Through its operating companies, Xcel Energy serves customers in Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin. The company's operations include a diverse generation portfolio featuring wind, solar, hydroelectric, nuclear, natural gas and other energy resources.

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