Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Upgraded to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley set a $79.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.00.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ:XEL traded up $0.38 on Friday, reaching $71.08. The stock had a trading volume of 256,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,562,431. The company has a market capitalization of $41.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $69.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $51.97 and a 1-year high of $73.38.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, April 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is a boost from Xcel Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Xcel Energy's payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Transactions at Xcel Energy

In other news, Director Devin W. Stockfish bought 2,170 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $68.93 per share, with a total value of $149,578.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,007 shares of the company's stock, valued at $207,272.51. This represents a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 118.3% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 6,608,044 shares of the company's stock worth $446,175,000 after buying an additional 3,581,436 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 1,625.7% during the fourth quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 3,667,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,609,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454,700 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Xcel Energy by 236.7% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 4,878,279 shares of the company's stock worth $329,381,000 after acquiring an additional 3,429,353 shares during the period. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Xcel Energy by 379.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,022,085 shares of the company's stock worth $271,578,000 after purchasing an additional 3,182,939 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company's stock.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

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.