Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.08 EPS

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.08, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.12 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.78%. Xcel Energy's revenue was down 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.76 EPS. Xcel Energy updated its FY24 guidance to $3.50-3.60 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 3.500-3.600 EPS.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

XEL stock traded down $1.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $53.96. The stock had a trading volume of 6,334,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,418,778. The firm has a market cap of $29.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.81, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock's 50 day moving average is $53.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.07. Xcel Energy has a 52 week low of $46.79 and a 52 week high of $70.72.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.548 per share. This represents a $2.19 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is 68.22%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $68.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. Wolfe Research raised Xcel Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $58.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $67.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Barclays upgraded shares of Xcel Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $61.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Monday, March 11th. Finally, TheStreet lowered shares of Xcel Energy from a "b-" rating to a "c+" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $62.58.

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.