Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and three have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.2857.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on XEL shares. Cowen began coverage on Xcel Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $92.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Barclays increased their target price on Xcel Energy from $83.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $86.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Xcel Energy Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $74.42 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $78.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.79. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $62.58 and a 1-year high of $83.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.45.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.32 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $3.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 13.46% and a return on equity of 10.45%. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 EPS for the current year.

Xcel Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 69.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in XEL. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Xcel Energy by 35.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 35,803 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,438,000 after purchasing an additional 9,355 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 10.3% in the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,211,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,042,000 after purchasing an additional 299,484 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $9,196,000. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy in the second quarter worth $317,000. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 2,324.9% during the 2nd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,716,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,884,000 after buying an additional 1,645,571 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Xcel Energy Company Profile

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ: XEL) is a Minneapolis-based, publicly traded utility holding company that develops, owns and operates regulated electricity and natural gas delivery systems. The company’s core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, the delivery of natural gas to customers, and related customer service operations. Xcel provides a mix of utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers and participates in wholesale energy markets where appropriate.

Its generation portfolio combines nuclear, natural gas, coal and a growing share of renewable resources such as wind and solar.