Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) have been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and three have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $87.00.

XEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on Xcel Energy from $85.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Xcel Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $90.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $86.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of XEL. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in Xcel Energy by 168.4% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 314 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Xcel Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Abound Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 394.5% in the 4th quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 361 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Xcel Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. 78.38% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Xcel Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:XEL opened at $76.51 on Thursday. Xcel Energy has a twelve month low of $65.21 and a twelve month high of $83.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.37 and its 200-day moving average is $75.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.33, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.46.

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

Xcel Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.51%.

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.