Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays upgraded Xcel Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research report on Monday, March 11th. TheStreet cut Xcel Energy from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Xcel Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $62.83.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of XEL stock traded up $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,477,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,596,921. Xcel Energy has a 52-week low of $46.79 and a 52-week high of $71.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $54.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $30.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.05, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.36.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.85 by ($0.02). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.78% and a net margin of 12.47%. The business had revenue of $3.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Quilter Plc bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth about $255,201,000. Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Heritage Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the first quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

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.