Truist Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) Stock

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Truist Financial from $92.00 to $94.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Truist Financial’s target price points to a potential upside of 19.33% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on XEL. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $96.00 price objective on shares of Xcel Energy in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Xcel Energy from $94.00 to $91.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Xcel Energy from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Xcel Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $101.00 price target on Xcel Energy in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.76.

Xcel Energy Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ XEL opened at $78.77 on Thursday. Xcel Energy has a 1-year low of $69.16 and a 1-year high of $84.23. The company has a market cap of $49.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The company has a 50-day moving average of $79.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.05.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91. Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 10.37%. The company had revenue of $4.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 earnings per share. Xcel Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Xcel Energy will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of XEL. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 365.3% in the first quarter. Evolution Wealth Management Inc. now owns 349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 394.5% during the fourth quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Garton & Associates Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Xcel Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Beacon Financial Strategies CORP acquired a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 471 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

About Xcel Energy

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.