Xcel Energy (XEL) Stock Forecast & Price Target

$73.78 +0.42 (+0.57%)

Closing price 04:00 PM Eastern

Extended Trading

$73.74 -0.04 (-0.05%)

As of 06:17 PM Eastern

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Xcel Energy - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Buy

Based on 17 Analyst Ratings

Sell
0

Hold
1

Buy
16

Based on 17 Wall Street analysts who have issued ratings for Xcel Energy in the last 12 months, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy." Out of the 17 analysts, 1 has given a hold rating, 13 have given a buy rating, and 3 have given a strong buy rating for XEL.

Consensus Price Target

$91.65
24.22% Upside

According to the 17 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Xcel Energy, the average price target is $91.65. The highest price target for XEL is $102.00, while the lowest price target for XEL is $77.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 24.22% from the current price of $73.78.

MarketBeat calculates consensus analyst ratings for stocks using the most recent rating from each Wall Street analyst that has rated a stock within the last twelve months. Each analyst's rating is normalized to a standardized rating score of 1 (sell), 2 (hold), 3 (buy) or 4 (strong buy). Analyst consensus ratings scores are calculated using the mean average of the number of normalized sell, hold, buy and strong buy ratings from Wall Street analysts. Each stock's consensus analyst rating is derived from its calculated consensus ratings score (0 to .5 = Strong Sell, .5 to 1 = Sell, 1 to 1.5 = Reduce, 1.5 to 2.5 = Hold, 2.5 to 3.0 = Moderate Buy, 3.0 to 3.5 = Buy, >3.5 = Strong Buy). MarketBeat's consensus price targets are a mean average of the most recent available price targets set by each analyst that has set a price target for the stock in the last twelve months. MarketBeat's consensus ratings and consensus price targets may differ from those calculated by other firms due to differences in methodology and available data.

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XEL Analyst Ratings Over Time

Type	Current Forecast 10/9/25 to 10/9/26	1 Month Ago 9/9/25 to 9/9/26	3 Months Ago 7/11/25 to 7/11/26	1 Year Ago 10/9/24 to 10/9/25
Strong Buy	3 Strong Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)
Buy	13 Buy rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	14 Buy rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)
Hold	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)
Sell	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Sell rating(s)
Consensus Price Target	$91.65	$92.41	$92.00	$81.73
Forecasted Upside	24.22% Upside	21.29% Upside	14.91% Upside	0.58% Upside
Consensus Rating	Buy	Buy	Buy	Moderate Buy

XEL Analyst Recommendations By Month

The chart below shows how a company's ratings by analysts have changed over time. Each bar represents the previous year of ratings for that month. Within each bar, the sell ratings are shown in red, the hold ratings are shown in yellow, the buy ratings are shown in green, and the strong buy ratings are shown in dark green.

XEL Price Targets by Month

The chart below shows how a company's share price and consensus price target have changed over time. The dark blue line represents the company's actual price. The lighter blue line represents the stock's consensus price target. The even lighter blue range in the background of the two lines represents the low price target and the high price target for each stock.

Xcel Energy Stock vs. The Competition

Type	Xcel Energy	Utilities Companies	Broader Market
Consensus Rating Score	3.12	2.41	2.52
Consensus Rating	Buy	Hold	Moderate Buy
Predicted Upside	24.60% Upside	65.93% Upside	19.54% Upside
News Sentiment Rating	Positive News See Recent XEL News	Positive News	Neutral News

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

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Rating

Upside/Downside

Action

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Date	Brokerage	Analyst	Action	Rating	Price Target	Report Date Upside/Downside
10/2/2026	Weiss Ratings 3 of 5 stars		Upgrade	Buy (B-) ➝ Buy (B)
9/29/2026	Scotiabank 4 of 5 stars	Ian Rapp Not Rated	Initiated Coverage	Sector Outperform	$77.00	+10.97%
9/18/2026	Morgan Stanley 3 of 5 stars	David Arcaro 3 of 5 stars	Lower Target	Equal Weight	$89.00 ➝ $83.00	+14.31%
8/13/2026	Truist Financial Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Richard Sunderland Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Buy	$94.00 ➝ $88.00	+11.28%
7/31/2026	BTIG Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Buy	$99.00	+26.09%
7/31/2026	Mizuho Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Anthony Crowdell Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$92.00	+17.17%
7/22/2026	BMO Capital Markets Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	James Thalacker Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Lower Target	Outperform	$95.00 ➝ $92.00	+15.21%
7/16/2026	JPMorgan Chase & Co. Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Jeremy Tonet Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight	$91.00 ➝ $102.00	+27.82%
7/9/2026	Barclays Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Nicholas Campanella Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Overweight	$87.00 ➝ $90.00	+13.88%
7/7/2026	Jefferies Financial Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Set Target		$101.00	+25.67%
Get the Latest News and Ratings for XEL and Related Stocks Enter your email address below to receive the latest news and analysts' ratings for Xcel Energy and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
6/23/2026	New Street Research Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Set Target		$91.00	+14.93%
6/8/2026	KeyCorp Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Sophie Karp Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Overweight
5/4/2026	Evercore Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Reiterated Rating	Outperform	$96.00	+16.69%
4/20/2026	UBS Group Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	William Appicelli Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy	$89.00 ➝ $91.00	+11.24%
3/12/2026	Argus Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Gary Hovis Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target		$86.00	+6.17%
1/23/2026	Royal Bank Of Canada Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Stephen D'Ambrisi Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Reiterated Rating	Outperform	$95.00	+26.97%
11/3/2025	Citigroup Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Ryan Levine Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy	$80.00 ➝ $92.00	+13.34%
10/16/2025	TD Cowen Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating		Initiated Coverage	Buy	$93.00	+13.69%
9/25/2025	Bank of America Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	Julien Dumoulin-Smith Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Boost Target	Buy	$78.00 ➝ $84.00	+7.79%
4/25/2025	Wells Fargo & Company Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the firm's recommendation accuracy rating	N. Kalton Subscribe to MarketBeat All Access for the analyst's recommendation accuracy rating	Set Target	Overweight	$78.00	+12.10%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Friday at 06:48 PM ET.

Should I Buy Xcel Energy Stock? XEL Pros and Cons Explained

These pros and cons were generated based on recent news and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate insights. They were last updated on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Xcel Energy pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Xcel Energy
Bull Case

Here are some ways that investors could benefit from investing in Xcel Energy Inc.:

The stock is currently trading at $72.42, which is significantly below the consensus price target of $92.56 set by analysts as of late September 2026, suggesting substantial upside potential for investors who believe the market is undervaluing the company's future earnings power.
Xcel Energy Inc. offers a stable income stream with a dividend yield of 3.26%, supported by a recent quarterly dividend announcement of $0.5925 per share, which is attractive for income-focused investors seeking consistent cash flow in a low-volatility sector.
The company has demonstrated strong earnings performance, reporting $0.93 in earnings per share for the quarter ended July 29, 2026, which exceeded the analyst consensus estimate of $0.79, indicating that the business is generating more profit than expected by the market.
With a beta of 0.36, Xcel Energy Inc. exhibits low volatility compared to the broader market, making it a defensive holding that can help stabilize a portfolio during periods of economic uncertainty or market downturns.
The company is positioned to benefit from rising electricity demand driven by data centers and industrial growth, as noted in recent analyst commentary, which supports long-term infrastructure investment and rate-base expansion opportunities.

Xcel Energy
Bear Case

Investors should be bearish about investing in Xcel Energy Inc. for these reasons:

Revenue for the most recent quarter declined by 5.1% year-over-year to $3.12 billion, falling short of the analyst consensus estimate of $3.54 billion, which may signal challenges in maintaining top-line growth despite strong earnings per share.
The company carries a high debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, meaning it has significantly more debt than equity, which can increase financial risk and interest expense obligations, particularly if interest rates remain elevated.
Xcel Energy Inc. recently announced the sale of its Michigan natural gas and electric operations to SEMCO and Upper Peninsula Power Company, which may reduce the company's customer base and operational footprint in a key state, potentially impacting long-term growth prospects.
The stock is trading below its 50-day moving average of $75.35 and 200-day moving average of $78.16, indicating that the stock is in a downtrend and may face continued downward pressure from technical factors.
Short interest has increased to 41.39 million shares, representing 6.64% of the float, with days to cover at 6.96, suggesting that a significant portion of investors are betting against the stock, which could lead to further selling pressure.

XEL Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 17 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Xcel Energy is $91.65, with a high forecast of $102.00 and a low forecast of $77.00.

17 Wall Street equities research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for Xcel Energy in the last year. There is currently 1 hold rating, 13 buy ratings and 3 strong buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street equities research analysts is that investors should "buy" XEL shares.

According to analysts, Xcel Energy's stock has a predicted upside of 24.22% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Over the previous 90 days, Xcel Energy's stock had 2 upgrades by analysts.

Xcel Energy has been rated by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets, BTIG Research, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, Scotiabank, Truist Financial, and Weiss Ratings in the past 90 days.

Analysts like Xcel Energy more than other "utilities" companies. The consensus rating for Xcel Energy is Buy while the average consensus rating for "utilities" companies is Hold. Learn more on how XEL compares to other companies.

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MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Xcel Energy analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 10/2/2026.

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Xcel Energy (XEL) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Xcel Energy - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Consensus Price Target

XEL Analyst Ratings Over Time

XEL Analyst Recommendations By Month

XEL Price Targets by Month

Xcel Energy Stock vs. The Competition

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Should I Buy Xcel Energy Stock? XEL Pros and Cons Explained

Xcel Energy
Bull Case

Xcel Energy
Bear Case

XEL Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

Stock Forecasts and Research Tools

Today's Analyst Ratings

Top-Rated Stocks

More Ratings Tools

Brokerages With Xcel Energy Recommendations

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Xcel Energy (XEL) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Xcel Energy - Analysts' Recommendations and Stock Price Forecast (2026)

Consensus Rating

Consensus Price Target

XEL Analyst Ratings Over Time

XEL Analyst Recommendations By Month

XEL Price Targets by Month

Xcel Energy Stock vs. The Competition

Recent Analyst Forecasts and Stock Ratings

Should I Buy Xcel Energy Stock? XEL Pros and Cons Explained

Xcel Energy Bull Case

Xcel Energy Bear Case

XEL Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

What is Xcel Energy's forecast for 2026?

Should I buy or sell Xcel Energy stock right now?

Does Xcel Energy's stock price have much upside?

Has Xcel Energy been upgraded by Wall Street analysts recently?

What analysts cover Xcel Energy?

Do Wall Street analysts like Xcel Energy more than its competitors?

Stock Forecasts and Research Tools

Today's Analyst Ratings

Top-Rated Stocks

More Ratings Tools

Brokerages With Xcel Energy Recommendations

MarketBeat All Access Features

Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring

Stock Ideas and Recommendations

Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools

Xcel Energy
Bull Case

Xcel Energy
Bear Case