Evercore ISI Begins Coverage on Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL)

Key Points

• Xcel Energy has received an upgrade to a "strong-buy" rating from Evercore ISI, signaling positive analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• The company posted earnings of $0.75 per share for the last quarter, beating analysts' expectations, and reported an 8.6% increase in year-over-year revenue.
• Xcel Energy's current average price target is set at $81.73, with a consensus rating classified as "Moderate Buy" from various analysts.

Investment analysts at Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set an "outperform" rating on the stock.

XEL has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets set a $84.00 target price on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $78.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Mizuho set a $83.00 price target on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Xcel Energy in a report on Saturday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Xcel Energy currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.73.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $81.85 on Monday. Xcel Energy has a 52 week low of $62.12 and a 52 week high of $82.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $74.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.05. The company has a market capitalization of $48.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.37.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.09. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.85% and a return on equity of 10.52%. The business had revenue of $3.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.54 EPS. The business's revenue was up 8.6% on a year-over-year basis. Xcel Energy has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.750-3.850 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.7% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 19,196 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,307,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 1.7% during the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 8,315 shares of the company's stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 0.9% during the second quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 16,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 7.2% during the second quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the company's stock valued at $148,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LCM Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Xcel Energy by 4.3% during the second quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 3,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company's stock.

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.