Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.55

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 22nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of 0.5475 per share on Saturday, July 20th. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%.

Xcel Energy has raised its dividend by an average of 6.5% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 21 years. Xcel Energy has a payout ratio of 57.0% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Xcel Energy to earn $3.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.19 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.2%.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

NASDAQ:XEL traded down $1.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,128,599 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,129,048. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $54.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.55. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $46.79 and a 12-month high of $66.40. The stock has a market cap of $30.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $0.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.36% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.76 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Xcel Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $62.83.

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.