Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Given Average Rating of "Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts (17 total) give Xcel Energy an average “Buy” rating — comprising 12 buys, 3 strong buys, 1 hold and 1 sell — with a mean 1‑year price target of about $88.44.
• Xcel raised its quarterly dividend to $0.5925 (annualized $2.37), implying a ~2.9% yield and a payout ratio of 69.3%.
• Q4 EPS of $0.96 matched estimates while revenue of $3.56B missed consensus; the stock trades near $80.82 with a market cap of ~$50.4B and a P/E of ~23.6.

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has issued a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $88.4375.

Several analysts have issued reports on XEL shares. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research set a $94.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a report on Friday, January 30th. Argus set a $86.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho set a $86.00 price objective on Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 9th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 7,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $593,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. TIAA Trust National Association boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.0% during the third quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 12,683 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 28,949 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,138,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 9.1% in the third quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 1,592 shares of the company's stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hills Bank & Trust Co increased its position in Xcel Energy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Hills Bank & Trust Co now owns 6,184 shares of the company's stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL opened at $80.82 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $78.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.63. The stock has a market cap of $50.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.63, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Xcel Energy has a one year low of $65.21 and a one year high of $84.23.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.96. The business had revenue of $3.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.76% and a return on equity of 10.46%. The firm's revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.5925 dividend. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is currently 69.30%.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

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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