Wall Street Zen Downgrades Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from “hold” to “sell” in a report issued Saturday, adding a bearish note to the stock’s analyst coverage.
• Despite that downgrade, the broader analyst view remains positive: Xcel Energy still has a consensus “Buy” rating and a $91.13 average price target, with 12 Buy ratings and 4 Strong Buy ratings.
• The company recently posted EPS of $0.91, matching expectations, but revenue of $4.02 billion came in below estimates. The stock opened at $79.39 and remains below its 52-week high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on XEL. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho set a $86.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research note on Friday, January 9th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Argus set a $86.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Xcel Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $91.13.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $79.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The business's 50 day moving average price is $80.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.41. Xcel Energy has a 1 year low of $65.21 and a 1 year high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91. The firm had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.37% and a net margin of 14.14%.The business's revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 168.4% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 314 shares of the company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Xcel Energy during the third quarter worth $27,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 394.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Xcel Energy by 365.3% during the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy NASDAQ: XEL is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.

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