Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $73.56 and last traded at $72.50, with a volume of 3524698 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $73.06.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on XEL. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Xcel Energy from $73.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Barclays upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Xcel Energy from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.80.

Xcel Energy Stock Down 0.2%

The firm has a 50 day moving average of $68.99 and a 200 day moving average of $68.82. The firm has a market cap of $41.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.37, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.95 by ($0.11). Xcel Energy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 14.10%. The business had revenue of $3.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.88 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy Inc. will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, July 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. Xcel Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 74,818,158 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,296,377,000 after acquiring an additional 986,170 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 31.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 25,809,978 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,827,090,000 after acquiring an additional 6,109,190 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 7.9% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 20,811,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,473,228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,520,092 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,401,901,000 after purchasing an additional 6,306,380 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after purchasing an additional 2,422,483 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.