Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Price Target Raised to $77.00

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) had its target price raised by Evercore ISI from $74.00 to $77.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on XEL. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays raised their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Trading Up 0.5 %

NASDAQ XEL traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $70.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,854,507 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,569,878. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $51.97 and a twelve month high of $73.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $69.63 and a 200 day moving average of $68.28.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). The company had revenue of $3.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at approximately $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,175,000 after buying an additional 3,581,436 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% in the 4th quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Xcel Energy by 236.7% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company's stock worth $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 379.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock worth $271,578,000 after acquiring an additional 3,182,939 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

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.