Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Buy" from the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.8750.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Xcel Energy from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, April 20th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price on the stock.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Xcel Energy stock opened at $82.58 on Friday. Xcel Energy has a 12-month low of $65.21 and a 12-month high of $84.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.41. The firm's 50-day moving average is $80.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.73. 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 (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.21 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.84 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.040-4.16 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.5925 per share. This represents a $2.37 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 was Friday, March 13th. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.30%.

Trending Headlines about Xcel Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Xcel Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Underlying earnings improved year-over-year — ongoing EPS was $0.91 (GAAP $0.89) vs $0.84 a year ago, showing earnings momentum despite headwinds. Xcel Energy First Quarter 2026 Earnings Report
• Positive Sentiment: Operations showed resilience: stronger electricity sales and recovery of electric infrastructure investments helped offset unusually warm weather and higher financing costs — supports regulated-utility cash flows and rate-recovery mechanics. Reuters: Xcel narrowly beats profit estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Q1 operating/ongoing EPS of $0.91 matched Street estimates — the beat/miss headline was neutral on EPS, and management hosted a call with slide deck/transcript for detail. Yahoo: Xcel Energy Q1 2026 Earnings Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations — reported $4.02B vs. analyst estimates near $4.21B, which pressures top-line growth narratives and likely weighs on near-term sentiment. Zacks: Xcel Q1 Earnings Match, Revenues Miss
• Negative Sentiment: FY‑2026 EPS guidance was set to $4.04–4.16, slightly below the consensus (~$4.11), creating downward pressure on estimates and the stock’s near‑term valuation (investors often re-price utilities when guidance misses).
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst action: Morgan Stanley trimmed its price target modestly ($93 → $92), reflecting broader utility valuation revisions — incremental negative for sentiment/target-based selling. InsiderMonkey: Why XEL remains on Wall Street’s radar

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,610,805 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,732,334,000 after buying an additional 885,085 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,340,645 shares of the company's stock worth $2,704,534,000 after purchasing an additional 444,092 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 9.9% in the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 28,851,485 shares of the company's stock worth $2,326,872,000 after purchasing an additional 2,589,406 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 16.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 24,572,438 shares of the company's stock worth $1,814,920,000 after purchasing an additional 3,546,423 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.3% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 19,526,873 shares of the company's stock worth $1,574,842,000 after purchasing an additional 807,353 shares during the period. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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