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Xcel Energy (XEL) Stock Forecast & Price Target

Xcel Energy logo
$69.39 -0.41 (-0.59%)
Closing price 04:00 PM Eastern
Extended Trading
$69.21 -0.18 (-0.26%)
As of 07:43 PM Eastern
Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more.

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

Consensus Rating

Sell
0
Hold
1
Buy
15

Based on 16 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 16 analysts, 1 has given a hold rating, 13 have given a buy rating, and 2 have given a strong buy rating for XEL.

Consensus Price Target

$92.56
33.39% Upside
According to the 16 analysts' twelve-month price targets for Xcel Energy, the average price target is $92.56. The highest price target for XEL is $102.00, while the lowest price target for XEL is $83.00. The average price target represents a forecasted upside of 33.39% from the current price of $69.39.
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

TypeCurrent Forecast
9/28/25 to 9/28/26
1 Month Ago
8/29/25 to 8/29/26
3 Months Ago
6/30/25 to 6/30/26
1 Year Ago
9/28/24 to 9/28/25
Strong Buy
2 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$92.56$92.41$91.29$79.64
Forecasted Upside33.39% Upside20.88% Upside13.69% Upside0.45% Upside
Consensus RatingBuyBuyBuyModerate 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.
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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.
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Xcel Energy Stock vs. The Competition

TypeXcel EnergyUtilities CompaniesBroader Market
Consensus Rating Score
3.06
2.37
2.53
Consensus RatingBuyHoldModerate Buy
Predicted Upside32.61% Upside70.53% Upside19.21% Upside
News Sentiment Rating
Positive News

See Recent XEL News
Positive News
Positive News
DateBrokerageAnalystActionRatingPrice TargetReport Date
Upside/Downside
Details
9/18/2026
Morgan Stanley logo
Morgan Stanley
3 of 5 stars
David Arcaro
David Arcaro
3 of 5 stars
Lower TargetEqual Weight$89.00 ➝ $83.00+14.31%
9/14/2026
Weiss Ratings logo
Weiss Ratings
5 of 5 stars
 Reiterated RatingBuy (B-)
8/13/2026
Truist Financial Corporation logo
Truist Financial
3 of 5 stars
Lower TargetBuy$94.00 ➝ $88.00+11.28%
7/31/2026 Reiterated RatingBuy$99.00+26.09%
7/31/2026Set Target$92.00+17.17%
7/22/2026Lower TargetOutperform$95.00 ➝ $92.00+15.21%
7/16/2026Boost TargetOverweight$91.00 ➝ $102.00+27.82%
7/9/2026Boost TargetOverweight$87.00 ➝ $90.00+13.88%
7/7/2026 Set Target$101.00+25.67%
6/23/2026 Set Target$91.00+14.93%
6/8/2026Reiterated RatingOverweight
5/4/2026 Reiterated RatingOutperform$96.00+16.69%
4/20/2026Boost TargetBuy$89.00 ➝ $91.00+11.24%
3/12/2026Set Target$86.00+6.17%
1/23/2026Reiterated RatingOutperform$95.00+26.97%
11/3/2025Boost TargetBuy$80.00 ➝ $92.00+13.34%
10/16/2025 Initiated CoverageBuy$93.00+13.69%
9/25/2025Boost TargetBuy$78.00 ➝ $84.00+7.79%
4/25/2025Set TargetOverweight$78.00+12.10%

Analyst ratings data on MarketBeat is provided by Benzinga and other data providers. This page was last refreshed on Monday at 08:16 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 Thursday, September 24, 2026. Please send any questions or comments about these Xcel Energy pros and cons to contact@marketbeat.com.

Xcel Energy
Bull Case

green Wall Street bull icon

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

  • The stock is currently trading at $69.56, which is near its 52-week low of $69.54, offering a potential entry point for investors seeking value in a utility sector that is benefiting from long-term structural demand growth.
  • Xcel Energy Inc. is positioned to benefit from the massive power demands of AI data centers, as the company has locked in long-term supply contracts that provide stable, regulated revenue streams and support its dividend growth outlook.
  • The company offers a reliable dividend yield of 3.29% with a payout ratio of 64.93%, and analysts expect the dividend to grow at an annual rate of 4% to 6%, extending its streak of consistent dividend increases.
  • With a beta of 0.39, Xcel Energy Inc. exhibits low volatility compared to the broader market, making it a defensive holding that can provide stability in a diversified portfolio during periods of economic uncertainty.
  • Institutional investors, including State Street Corp and National Pension Service, have recently increased their stakes in the company, indicating strong confidence from large funds in the long-term stability and growth potential of Xcel Energy Inc.

Xcel Energy
Bear Case

red Wall Street bear icon

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

  • Morgan Stanley recently lowered its price target on Xcel Energy Inc. from $89.00 to $83.00 and assigned an "equal weight" rating, reflecting a more cautious outlook on the stock's near-term performance.
  • The company's revenue declined by 5.1% year-over-year in the most recent quarter, with actual revenue of $3.12 billion falling short of the consensus estimate of $3.54 billion, indicating potential challenges in top-line growth.
  • Short interest in Xcel Energy Inc. has increased significantly, with 41,392,983 shares shorted as of September 2026, suggesting that a portion of the market is betting against the stock's future price appreciation.
  • The stock has underperformed its 50-day moving average of $77.20 and 200-day moving average of $78.93, indicating that the stock is in a downtrend and may face continued downward pressure in the near term.
  • Despite the low beta, the company's debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49 and current ratio of 0.70 suggest that it carries a significant amount of debt and may face liquidity constraints, which could limit its ability to invest in growth initiatives or weather economic downturns.

XEL Forecast - Frequently Asked Questions

According to the research reports of 16 Wall Street equities research analysts, the average twelve-month stock price forecast for Xcel Energy is $92.56, with a high forecast of $102.00 and a low forecast of $83.00.

16 Wall Street 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 2 strong buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "buy" XEL shares.

According to analysts, Xcel Energy's stock has a predicted upside of 33.39% based on their 12-month stock forecasts.

Xcel Energy has been rated by research analysts at Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, BTIG Research, Jefferies Financial Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Mizuho, Morgan Stanley, 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.


MarketBeat monitors more than a dozen sources for Xcel Energy analyst ratings, with the most recent rating issued on 9/18/2026.
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