Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Issues Earnings Results

Key Points

• Xcel Energy reported a quarterly EPS of $0.75, exceeding estimates by $0.09, while revenue was $3.29 billion, slightly below forecasts.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.57 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.1% and a payout ratio of 63.16%.
• Several analysts raised their target prices for Xcel Energy shares, with a consensus average target of $76.00, suggesting positive sentiment in the market.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.31 billion. Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.52% and a net margin of 14.85%. The company's revenue was up 8.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.54 EPS. Xcel Energy updated its FY 2025 guidance to 3.750-3.850 EPS.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.68. The stock had a trading volume of 641,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,642,880. The company has a market cap of $43.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.34. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $69.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. Xcel Energy has a fifty-two week low of $57.24 and a fifty-two week high of $74.57.

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.16%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new position in Xcel Energy during the 4th quarter worth $240,000. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 40.7% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 48,515 shares of the company's stock worth $3,434,000 after buying an additional 14,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 13,810 shares of the company's stock worth $978,000 after buying an additional 3,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on XEL. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $78.00 target price on Xcel Energy and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Xcel Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.00.

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.