Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) Receives $72.30 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Xcel Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:XEL) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $72.30.

XEL has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Xcel Energy from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Xcel Energy from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Xcel Energy from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Xcel Energy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $80.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Xcel Energy from $71.00 to $69.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Xcel Energy Stock Performance

Shares of XEL stock opened at $69.72 on Friday. Xcel Energy has a 52 week low of $51.97 and a 52 week high of $73.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.27. The firm has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Xcel Energy (NASDAQ:XEL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The company reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.06). Xcel Energy had a net margin of 14.40% and a return on equity of 10.65%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Xcel Energy will post 3.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Xcel Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Xcel Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Xcel Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Xcel Energy news, Director Devin W. Stockfish purchased 2,170 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $68.93 per share, for a total transaction of $149,578.10. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,007 shares in the company, valued at $207,272.51. The trade was a 259.26 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Xcel Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Xcel Energy by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 73,831,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,985,136,000 after buying an additional 953,002 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Xcel Energy by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 37,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,445,477,000 after buying an additional 2,323,448 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Xcel Energy by 43.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 20,762,745 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,401,901,000 after acquiring an additional 6,306,380 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Xcel Energy by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 19,291,149 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,302,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Xcel Energy by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 17,613,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,189,246,000 after acquiring an additional 2,422,483 shares during the last quarter. 78.38% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, purchasing, transmission, distribution, and sale of electricity. It operates through Regulated Electric Utility, Regulated Natural Gas Utility, and All Other segments. The company generates electricity through wind, nuclear, hydroelectric, biomass, and solar energy sources, as well as coal, natural gas, oil, wood, and refuse-derived fuels.